Explosive
by Sir Sebastian
Summary: When two headstrong women come together, the results can be.. explosive. An alternate result to Kim and Bonnie's exchange in the beginning of ”Number One”. I have done a terrible thing with a children's tv show... KiBo
1. Phases

**Summary: **When two headstrong women come together, the results can be.. explosive. An alternate result to Kim and Bonnie's exchange in the beginning of "Number One". I have done a terrible thing with a children's tv show..

A big thanks to _cpneb_, a bon-diggity beta and friend.

_**All material herein is written for entertainment purposes only, and as such, do not represent the author's views or opinions on the subject matter.**_

**Disclaimer:** Characters used and abused in this fic are the product and property of people way smarter - and cooler - than I. I have my way with them for my own twisted amusement - and hopefully yours.

Kim Possible © Disney

* * *

**This story is rated M**

* * *

**EXPLOSIVE**

_a Kim Possible fanfic, by Sir Sebastian_

**Chapter 1: Phases**

≈O≈

The Middleton High gymnasium smelled like school spirit. Pom-poms waved about rhythmically as lithe cheerleaders performed the demanding choreography with practiced ease. As the routine drew closer to the finish, the chosen few, one by one, took their positions, forming a human pyramid.

The chorus of voices sounded from the final formation:

"M-A-D D-O-G  
That's how we spell victory  
Go, Mad Dogs  
Go, go, Mad Dogs  
Go, Mad Dogs  
Go, go, Mad Dogs"

"We're number one! " Kim Possible finished, leaping from her spot at the top of the pyramid, doing a double somersault in the air, landing in a split with her arms stretched out. After holding the position for a moment, she did a backflip and landed on her feet, facing the squad. "Okay! Great practice, team," she smiled, praising the squad on a job well done.

As the rest of the team started to disperse, Bonnie Rockwaller, Kim's archrival, approached her. "Kim, can we chat?"

_What now?_ Kim thought, already annoyed. She had never been in very good relations with the curvaceous brunette, but there seemed to be an increasing amount of tension between them lately. If things kept going the way they had, it was only a matter of time before it all erupted - explosively.

Kim put on her best fake smile. "Sure, Bonnie. I have time for anyone on the squad. What's your 'ish?"

"Well, it's really _your_ 'ish," Bonnie said, looping her arm around Kim's. "You seem tired," she continued, the insincerity shining through her feigned concern, as she started leading the redhead towards the stands.

_She's __**so**__ up to something,_ Kim thought, trying desperately to ignore how soft Bonnie's skin felt against her arm.

"I did fly in from Abu Dhabi this morning: rescued an ambassador," she said nonchalantly as they sat down on the bench.

"Which is... nice, " Bonnie said dismissively, "but you gotta ask yourself, did you give the squad 110 percent today?"

It irked Kim immensely when someone suggested she didn't give it her all, be it cheerleading, homecoming committee, or saving the world. "120 percent, Bonnie," she replied, gritting her teeth.

"I happen to think the squad deserves a captain who gives... like, 130!" the ambitious brunette insisted.

"Someone like...?" Kim asked, knowing full well whom the brunette was referring to.

"Me!" Bonnie said emphatically as she stood up.

Kim also stood, looking straight at Bonnie. "Look, if you wanna make a play for captain, take it to the squad. If they want Bonnie instead of Kim, super for Bonnie."

_Aargh! I just wanna throw her on the ground and.._

"Go ahead, be little miss smug-mug, but I _will_ be squad captain."

_Always the Miss Snooty Know-It-All. I just wanna.._

The two girls faced off, their stares blazing. One could almost see the sparks flying from the green eyes, the anger boring into the teal eyes opposite them.

As the standoff continued, the tension was rapidly reaching critical mass. Had someone been there to watch, it wouldn't have come as a surprise that the tension finally erupted in a spectacular fashion. The manner it erupted, though, was another matter. The two cheerleaders slammed into each other, their lips merged, and their hands traveled feverishly as their mouths became a battleground of dueling tongues.

When they finally separated, their dreamy expressions soon changed to wide-eyed surprise and shock.

"What do you think you're _doing_!?" Bonnie screamed.

"Me?! You _jumped_ me!" Kim yelled back.

"Oh, _puh-lese_. You were all over me. For your information, I don't swing that way."

"You could've fooled me. Or did you mistake my _butt_ for a squeeze toy?"

"I was trying to get you off of me!"

"By prying me off with your tongue?"

"I- I.." Bonnie trailed off trying to find the words.

The silence lasted but seconds. The two cheerleaders were once again in each other's arms. Kim pushed Bonnie down on the bench and straddled her, reestablishing their liplock. Her hands tried to find their way into Bonnie's top, but it was too tight to allow entry, so she settled for an over-the-top fondle. She had always been fascinated by Bonnie's ample busom, given hers was more modest. She wasn't insecure; she knew she could still 'raise interest'. In fact, she had caught Ron trying to sneak a peek, more than once, and she'd seen Ron's interest 'raised' on more than one occasion.

The brunette made a surprised sound but didn't fight back. Normally, anyone who would have dared to try that move on Bonnie, would have left limping and holding their privates, provided they were even able to walk. At this moment, she welcomed the stolen second base. So instead of blowing up in her face, she grabbed the redhead's butt with both hands, pulling her closer.

Soon they had expended the initial surge of fervor; their movements slowed down, became more deliberate. All this was still happening purely on a visceral level; any clear thoughts at this point would have sent them both running. Now their hands traveled slowly, appreciating every curve and contour and the feel of silky, well-cared-for skin. The aggressive attack of tongues abated. Both of them took the time to savour the gentle touch, the taste of each other. Their lips separated; Kim's tongue came out for a lick, touching first the lower lip, then the upper. Bonnie took Kim's lower lip gently between her teeth, enclosing her lips around it. As Bonnie released her lip, Kim stuck out her tongue which the brunette took in her mouth, sucking on it while caressing it with her own tongue.

While all this was happening, a set of glazed over eyes gleamed in the crack of the boys' locker room door. The phrase, _"Dear Penthouse,"_ ran through Ron Stoppable's mind as he, somehow miraculously, stopped his drool from flooding the gym. His loose-fitting pants were no longer loose. He knew he shouldn't be peeping on his best friend like this, but how often do you get a chance to watch two hot chicks making out?

The sharp, piercing ring of the school bell penetrated the cloud of passion surrounding the entangled cheerleaders. Their lips separated, their movements slow and languid, as they came down from the high. A string of saliva stretched between their moist, parted lips, slowly sagging, and finally snapping. Their chests heaved against each other as they took deep, leisurely breaths, the warm air caressing their lips.

Ron chose this moment to make his leave. He closed the door as quietly as he could, actually managing to do so without an audible sound. After taking a moment to "readjust himself", he headed out. Only a few steps in, however, he stumbled on a trash can and went sprawling on the floor with a dull thud as the trash can bounced and rolled on the floor, rattling loudly.

Kim's head shot out. "You hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I thought I heard something."

"I didn't hear anything. Now, get off: we need to get to class."

Kim turned back to the woman under her. "Get off? Are you trying to tell me something?" she smiled seductively, and Bonnie grabbed another quick kiss and copped one last feel.

Bonnie repeated, her meaning clearer this time: "Now get off me," she said casually, "we need to get to class."

Kim was a little put off by Bonnie's indifferent tone, especially after the moment they had just shared. On the other hand, she wasn't totally clear on her own feelings right now. Just a few minutes ago they were bitter enemies - not to mention straight - and now... she just didn't know.

She climbed off Bonnie and straightened her uniform. From under her brow she watched Bonnie smooth and straighten hers.

Without a word, they raced to the locker room. In their hurry, they didn't realize until they were naked in the shower, that they were... naked... in the shower... alone... after a make-out session. An event that had been an everyday occurence had transformed into something very, very awk-weird. Despite both women's efforts to appear nonchalant, they couldn't keep their cheeks from flushing at every glimpse of the other woman's naked body.

After drying off and getting dressed, Bonnie was heading out without having said a word. Regardless of her discomfort and akwardness, Kim had to ask the question gnawing at her. "Bonnie? What's the sitch... with us?"

Bonnie stopped at the door. "There is no 'us', Possible. Today never happened," she said coolly and, without sparing so much as a glance in her direction, walked away.

"But..." Kim said after her, but there was no one to hear her but the door.

The phrase 'dazed and confused' didn't even begin to cover her mental state, as she was left alone with her thoughts, all of them going a mile a minute, and none of them coherent. As she stood there alone in the silent locker room, it all seemed like a dream, unreal. While the concept of kissing another girl was hard enough for her to wrap her mind around, the girl being Bonnie Rockwaller was enough to fry her brain. The two of them had never seen eye to eye, on anything, and yet just a moment ago, they had shared the most passionate kiss - not a kiss; a full on grope-fest make-out session - Kim had ever experienced, or even seen on TV (on prime time anyway; the shows she knew her dad watched at night were another story).

With a deep sigh she pushed through the door and headed to her locker.

She was so deep in thought she didn't even notice Ron standing at his own locker, which was located right next to hers. It took Ron several calls of 'KP' before she came to.

"Huh?" she uttered.

"You're pretty out of it, KP," Ron said, desperately trying not to break into a huge grin. "Something you need to talk about?"

"Nah, I'm good," Kim answered absently, turning to open her locker. "Just have a lot on my mind."

Ron pressed on. "Really? Nothing you need to get off your chest?" _Like, say, a busty brunette?_

"It's nothing, just drop it."

Ron dropped it, but Kim couldn't help but notice him watching her oddly for the rest of the day. She could have sworn she saw his eyes glaze over a couple of times while drool dripped from the corner of his mouth.

It got even worse after school, as they were lounging in Kim's room. She was laying on her bed, flipping through some teen magazine, while Ron sat in a bean bag chair, ostensibly reading a comic book. The cheshire grin on his face didn't sit too well with Kim, so she decided get it out of him.

"What?!" she demanded.

"Nothing," Ron still grinned.

Either Ron had found a hidden warehouse full of Tex Mex treats just for him, or he had a big secret. _Oh, no!_

"You know!" Kim gasped as she rose to sit on her calves.

"Know what?" Ron played innocent. Poorly.

"Oh my God, you saw us."

For a few heartbeats Ron managed to hold his tongue, but no more. "I totally did!" he blurted enthusiastically. "And, it was the hottest thing I've ever seen."

"Oh, God." Kim buried her face in her hands. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" she asked peering up through her fingers.

"Why would I tell anyone? It's our little secret. Our hot, steamy, sweaty, secret."

"Ron," Kim growled, "This is so not funny."

"What's the problem, KP?" Ron asked, trying to tame his grin.

"The problem is, that I'm going through an identity crisis, and you're treating it like one big joke."

"I-," Ron started, ending up flapping his jaws without any words coming out. He didn't realize it was this serious. "Sorry, KP. I guess I just didn't think about it like that."

"I just wish there was someone I could talk to about this."

"What about me?" Ron asked, borderline offended.

"You?" Kim asked dubiously, arcing an eyebrow.

"I can't promise I won't drool, but I make one terrific listener. It'll help to get it off your chest."

"You just keep your mind off my chest." Kim crossed her arms.

"Fine. It's crowded there anyway, with Bonnie all over it," Ron retorted, drawing a growl from Kim.

Kim loved Ron like no other, and considered him her dearest friend, but wasn't exactly convinced he was mature enough to handle the subject matter. Still, her need to talk about it won out, and she started laying it all out: how she wasn't sure how she felt, how even if the feelings were mutual nothing good could come out of it. As she gradually loosened up, her soliloquy went all over the place, making it hard for Ron to follow, yet he tried to offer some support and advice. The only thing he could come up with, though, was: find out how Bonnie feels, or forget about it and go on with your life.

Kim chose to follow the former.

Being a prime example of an A type personality, Kim had never liked disorder in any part of her life, be it school or personal life. Everything had to be clear, efficient, and neatly pigeonholed. This was why she couldn't let the incident go, and insisted on getting Bonnie to talk to her privately. Her efforts were rewarded only with snarky comments ladened with unusually high amounts of disdain. The brunette was clearly determined to forget it ever happened. Add to that having to deal with some deranged golfer and a stick-up-the-butt hotshot agent, and her annoyance and frustration levels rose to unforeseen new heights.

Not wanting to give up, like the Blue Fox she was, she kept at it for days.

A couple of days into her quest, Kim began to get phone calls. At random times of day, she would answer the phone, only to be greeted with silence. One evening when she was in a particularly foul mood, mostly due to that jackass, Will Du, she snapped at the phone, berating whoever was life-deprived enough to indulge in such childish pastime. She could have sworn she heard a sigh, or possibly even a moan, from the other end. She considered having Wade trace the calls, but ultimately decided against it. She suspected Bonnie was behind the calls, but couldn't be sure since she hadn't given the slightest indication of interest during school.

Finally, discouraged and weary, Kim gave up and accepted that what happened with Bonnie was just a fluke, and even began wondering if it had ever really happened.

That was, until the following week.

After a particularly intense cheer practice, Kim was the last girl in the gym, finishing up her after workout stretching. The rest of the girls had already filed out, groaning from exhaustion and aching muscles. Kim's frustration had transferred into their workouts, and the squad suffered the consequences.

Done with her stretching, she headed to the locker room. As she was passing the equipment storeroom, the door opened and she was pulled inside. In the darkness, her lips came under attack. She pushed the assailant off her, and reached for the light switch. She was in for a big surprise.

"Bonnie? What are you-_mphmm_." Kim was cut short when Bonnie pinned her against the wall, covering the redhead's lips with her own. For a fraction of a second Kim was tempted to just let go and surrender. However, her frustration over the fellow cheerleader's behaviour won out, and she pushed the brunette off her.

"What the _hell_, B? First you don't talk to me for a week, and now, this!" she let out her indignation.

"Stop talking," Bonnie ordered impatiently and tried to move back in.

Kim continued to hold her back. "No. What is the _stinkin'_ sitch?"

"Look, are we gonna do this or not?"

"Not until I get some answers. I mean, the last time I checked, we were enemies. And not gay."

Bonnie seemed offended by the suggestion. "I am _not_ gay!" she huffed. "This is just a phase."

"And I'm what, your flavor of the month? You play with me until it's not fun for you anymore?"

Bonnie let out an exasperated groan. "Would you stop taking it so personally. Lots of people go through a phase like this. Why can't you just go with it, instead of being all 'what, why, how'?"

"Am I just supposed to let you ride out your phase on me?"

"Funny choice of words there, K."

The realization of the double meaning in her words brought an intense blush on Kim's cheeks. "That... that's not what I meant."

"Besides," Bonnie smirked, "I seem to recall _you_ doing the riding last week."

"I-" Kim was at a loss for words. The other girl was right: she had been fully into it, and even though she didn't necessarily mind the idea of another go, she needed to know Bonnie wasn't just using her and wouldn't just toss her aside when she got bored.

"Why... why me? I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you. I just don't like you. But for some ferociously whack reason... I'm attracted to you."

"And just why is it ferociously whack?" Kim demanded with her hands on her hips.

"You're an annoying Little Goody Two-Shoes."

"What!? _Am, not_!"

"Are, _too_!"

"_Am, not_!"

Bonnie's eyes filled with desire, as she seemed to be getting off on the argument. "Gawd, you're hot when you're angry," she breathed huskily.

"Stop it, Bonnie. This, whatever this is, is over."

"Oh, come on. You liked it as much as I did."

"So what if I did? I can't be with someone who doesn't like me, no matter how good it feels." _Oops._

A smile edging on predatory grew on Bonnie's lips. She closed the gap between the two and brought her hand up on Kim's cheek. She slapped the hand away and whipped around. Undeterred, Bonnie walked up behind Kim, sliding her hands along the slim redhead's hips. Her breasts pressed against the other woman's back as she leaned over her shoulder, took her ear in her mouth, and rolled it in her mouth hungrily. Bonnie could feel Kim's breathing getting heavier.

Kim's resolve was all but broken down. "Stop," she breathed and swallowed while trying to think of a reasonable argument for not doing this. All she could come up with was: "I'm all sweaty."

"I _like_ it when you glisten," Bonnie's lascivious, husky voice caressed her ear, sending shivers down her spine. The brunette temptress started sliding her hand from Kim's hip upward, toward her breasts. Kim grabbed the hand and extricated herself. She whipped around, taking Bonnie by the shoulders, and shoved her against the wall. She stared at the brunette, the lusty, hungry look in her teal eyes slowly, inescapably permeating her own. Whatever reservations Kim had had were all forgotten as she began devouring her archrival's lips.

* * *

To be continued... 


	2. A New Playing Field

Author's Note: I've been having big slump in my writing lately, and I'm REALLY sorry for the lateness, shortness, and crumminess of this chapter. I'll try to do better next time.

Again, thanks to _cpneb_ for the beta (sure took his sweet time, though, the lazy sob :)

* * *

**Chapter 2: A New Playing Field**

≈O≈

The pencil was no match for Kim. The poor writing utensil had been reduced to a toothpick between the troubled redhead's grinding teeth.

_What the hell am I doing? _Kim asked herself for the nth time._ This is crazy. I'm crazy. How did I end up being involved with Bonnie?_

Kim glanced over her shoulder to Bonnie, who was sitting in the next row, one seat back.

_I'm a hero, a role model, and I'm smacking lips with the meanest girl in school. With that snarky, tanned, full-lipped- Get a grip, Kim!_

"Kim Possible?"

Kim awoke from her musings. "What?"

"What's the answer?" asked Mr. Barkin, now substituting for their math teacher, Ms. Graph.

"Uh.. _e_ to the power of _x_?" Kim ventured a guess.

"Correct. I guess you were paying attention."

_Phew!_ she sighed of relief. Maybe Ron's dumb luck - or dumb skill, as Ron liked to call it - was rubbing off on her. Still, that didn't help her with her problem. She knew what she was doing had to be wrong, it just had to be. But why did it feel so right - no, not right... Good? When she was with Bonnie, Kim felt so alive. It was exciting, it was scary, it was... _forbidden_. Bonnie was a vice. She was chocolate - bad for you, but when it was right in front of you, you couldn't help stuffing your face.

Maybe that's what Kim needed to do: keep away from Bonnie, not expose herself to temptation. Kim knew it was easier said than done, especially when she wasn't even sure she _wanted_ to stop. This was all new territory for her, and in spite of her hang-ups, she was eager to explore it. Just the thought of Bonnie's soft lips on hers, those skillful hands roaming her body...

Kim bit her lip.

≈O≈

"Hey, Kim, wait up!" Ron called as he chased Kim after the class.

Kim didn't seem to hear him, and continued pushing through the crowd in a daze. When Ron caught up to her, she had her hand on the dial on her locker, but wasn't entering the combination.

"What's up, KP?" Ron asked.

"Huh? Sorry, I had something on my mind."

Even though Ron was pretty sure he knew what it was, he didn't let it show. "Let's go hang out at the caf."

"Sure, I-" Kim started, before she saw something behind Ron. For a moment, intense indecision marred Kim's face. It didn't go unnoticed by Ron, but before he was able to ask about it, Kim let out a resigned sigh. "Sorry, something came up," she said and walked past Ron.

Ron turned around just in time to see Bonnie ducking in one of the classrooms. It didn't take him long to figure out where his friend was headed.

"C'mon, you promised we'd hang out," he called out after her, knowing his pleads were in vain.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I'll make it up to you," Kim threw over her shoulder, without even slowing down.

"You'd better," Ron grumbled as he watched her disappear in the classroom Bonnie had gone in just moments before.

Ron sighed. Only a week ago he had thought he was the luckiest guy in the world. He had the occasional front row seat to watch two seriously hot cheerleaders make out - without them knowing, of course. But now he realized how much he missed spending time with KP. She was blowing him off more frequently and the whole girl-on-girl thing was starting to get old – something he would never admit to another man, not in a million years.

This was headed nowhere good, fast.

Ron's mood picked up a little during the remaining classes as he shared them with Kim, and she seemed to have filled her Bonnie-quota for the day.

With the day finally over, the best friends rendezvoused at their lockers.

"So, what's next, KP?" Ron asked as he stuffed his books in his locker, careless of the damage he might inflict.

"We have cheer practice, remember?" Kim said. She closed her locker and looked at Ron's mistreatment of school property in bemusement.

"Cool." Ron forced his locker shut. The door had a noticeable bulge. "Then it's off to Bueno Nacho."

The two headed down the hall towards the gym.

"I just hope Bonnie doesn't get on my case again," Kim said.

"What's up with that? You've been smacking lips with her for almost-"

"_Shut up_, Ron!" Kim shushed him, and looked around if anyone heard. "Do you want everyone to know?"

"Sorry, KP."

"Try to be more careful. Do you have any idea what would happen if people found out?"

"Well," Ron scratched his head, "umm, no, not really."

"Well... I don't either, but I'm sure it would be bad."

"Okay."

"Let's just get going."

≈O≈

Kim stormed into the locker room after Bonnie. The redhead was so furious the room was a throw of water away from turning into a sauna.

"What the hell's your problem?!" she shouted, causing Bonnie to turn and face her, the look of disdain never leaving her face. Hope and Jessica, the only girls still in the locker room, ducked out quickly, lest they get in the middle of the impending death match.

"What're you getting so worked up about? I only said what everyone was thinking," Bonnie said, arms crossed.

"If you have a problem with the routine," Kim fumed, now toe-to-toe with Bonnie, "bring it up in private, not in front of the squad!"

"I wouldn't have to bring it up at all if you'd stop trying to kill us with those dare-devil stunts you call a routine!" the brunette shot back angrily, her arms now at her sides, hands clenched into fists.

"Just because you can't step up to the challenge, don't ruin it for the rest of us!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh," Kim said, bringing her hand up to her mouth in a mock apologetic gesture, "should I have used small words a simpleton like you can understand?"

Bonnie raised her hand in an obvious attempt to slap Kim, but the redhead was faster and grabbed the brunette's wrist and slammed her against the lockers.

"If you want to keep that hand, you won't try that again," Kim snarled. Bonnie growled and pushed off the lockers, pushing both of them across the aisle, slamming into the other row of lockers, leaving a sizable dent.

Bonnie grinned. "What's the matter Possible," she mocked, "the big hero can't handle little old m-" Her words were captured in Kim's mouth as the redhead reached out her hand and grabbed Bonnie by the back of the head, forcing the brunette's lips on hers. Bonnie tried to pull back, more on reflex than actual desire to separate. Kim's hold stayed fast, and the two stumbled back to the other side, making another dent on the sheet metal doors.

Once again they pushed off, now veering slightly, ending up in the showers. Their struggle caused one of the showers to turn on. Any semblance of fighting washed away with the rain of tepid water, leaving only desire. Pure. Hungry. Passionate.

The physical response their bodies exhibited was clearly visible through their soaking wet tops.

"Is it cold in here, or are you just happy to see me?" Bonnie grinned.

Kim turned away for a moment, blushing slightly. "Probably both."

Kim gasped sharply and bit her lip to suppress the moan as Bonnie cupped her breast and brushed the erect nipple with her finger.

"Bonnie," she sighed.

"We've been doing this for, what, two weeks now," Bonnie said. "Maybe we should try going to the next level."

"What do you-" Kim began, but stopped as Bonnie lowered herself to her knees, sliding her hands along Kim's sides until they reached her hips.

"I've always liked that bare midriff of yours," the kneeling brunette said before she began planting kisses around Kim's exposed navel. Kim's hands landed on her shoulders, resisting weakly. No longer pushing her away, Kim suddenly squeezed when Bonnie kissed her bellybutton, darting her tongue into it. The resulting wetness had nothing to do with the falling water.

For a moment she seemed to surrender. Encouraged, Bonnie slid her hands up to the bottom of Kim's top, and started lifting it as she stood up. Before the garment had risen high enough to release its contents, Kim's resolve returned and she stopped Bonnie from advancing any further.

"Bonnie," she began, looking the clearly disappointed brunette in the eye. "I don't think I'm ready for that. And when I am, I don't want it to be here. I want to be somewhere safe and private."

"Like where? This is about as private as we can get without sneaking into a motel."

Bonnie was right. Every hideout and closet had become old hat to them in their search for privacy. Even Barkin's office had lost its thrill. It's not that they were craving for more excitement, they simply wanted a place where to continue their activies, unseen, after school hours.

But there was one thing Kim wouldn't go for.

"No motels," she said.

"At least we agree on something," Bonnie replied. "Let's just wash up and think about this later."

"Yeah, about that... You should go first."

"Getting bashful all of a sudden?"

"It's just a little too weird for me right now."

"Fine," Bonnie said, disappointed. Her own discomfort didn't make it past the front she'd been cultivating for years.

For the next two days they tried getting some _afternoon delight_ in Kim's room, but it was far from private. If it wasn't the Tweebs planting booby traps or leering at Bonnie, one of Kim's parents was sticking their head in, asking if the girls needed anything. Bonnie was starting to get frustrated.

"This is unacceptable. We need a place with some privacy," Bonnie complained, sitting on Kim's bed.

"How about your house?" Kim asked. She was sitting backwards on her desk chair, leaning on its back support.

"Nah, Mom works from home, she's always around. And I don't want to risk running into my sisters."

"What about Ron's tree house?"

"No way I'm swapping spit in some dingy hut in a tree."

"The tree house is not dingy."

"Whatever." Bonnie let out a frustrated groan and threw herself on the bed. "Isn't there anywhere we can go?"

"Well, there is one place..," Kim said hesitantly.

"Where?"

"Ron's parents work long hours, and I have the keys to his house."

"What about Ron?"

"When he's not with me, he's usually at the arcade."

Bonnie sat up, grinning lasciviously. "So, what are we waiting for?" she said and got up from the bed.

Kim stood up and followed the brunette. Before they reached the ladder, Bonnie was stopped by Kim's hand. After a quick glance to make sure no one, especially her brothers, was in sight, Kim gave the brunette a toe-curling kiss.

"Just to tide me over," she replied with her Kim-smirk to the quizzical look directed at her.

"Come on, you little minx," Bonnie grinned and stepped on the ladder.

As Kim prepared to follow, she couldn't shake the feeling this was a very bad idea.

≈O≈

"So this is the loser's lair," Bonnie scoffed, looking around in Ron's room.

"I told you not to call him a loser," Kim defended her friend.

"A lava lamp?" the brunette motioned towards the decoration, popular in a decade long since passed, that stood on a bureau.

"What? I think it's soothing."

"It's tacky."

"So? It's quaint. Gives the room a personal touch."

"I'll show you a personal touch," Bonnie said and planted her hands on Kim's rear, pulling her against herself.

They kissed.

"Mmm.. I'm all about getting up close and personal," Kim said after the kiss. "But no more mocking Ron. Okay, B?"

"Whatever you say, K," Bonnie agreed half-heartedly as she began planting kisses up and down Kim's neck.

"I'm serious. He's my best friend and means the world to me."

"Mmhmm," Bonnie sounded in between kisses.

"Promise me you won't make fun of him anymore?"

Bonnie came up and cupped Kim's cheeks. "I promise. Now stop talking and start kissing."

She didn't need to be told twice.

With short, jerky steps, they moved towards the bed, while trying to maintain lip contact. Bonnie's calves hit the edge of the bed, and she sat down, leaning back. Then Kim pulled away, much to the other girl's displeasure, turning to the bureau. "Just a sec."

"What's the hold-up? Get your cute butt here already."

"I'm just putting on a little music."

Kim browsed through the small stack of cd's next to the radio and pulled one out.

"Does the lo-, Ron, even have anything worth listening to?"

Kim popped in the cd and pressed play. Soon the room was enveloped in the hypnotic, relaxing beats of _Warm Sound_, setting the perfect atmosphere for some quality togetherness.

"This isn't half bad," Bonnie said as Kim sat down next to her.

"I burned Ron a _Zero 7_ compilation so we could listen to it while doing our homework."

"Are you sure you two aren't dating?" Bonnie asked, semi-seriously.

"Do you want to talk about Ron or do you want to make out?"

Her question was answered with lips pressing against hers. No further thoughts made it through the fog created of slow beats and the thirst for touch.

* * *

To be continued...


	3. The Old Switcheroo, part 1

Author's Note: I know I must sound like a broken record, but I'm really sorry for taking so long with this one. It was actually looking like if I were to finish this chapter in the form I had planned, it could have taken a few more months! So, I decided to cut it in half and post what I had together so far. I hope this can keep you satisfied until the next update. -SS

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Old Switcheroo, Part 1**

≈O≈

Kim knew she had come up with the perfect routine with which to win the Cheerleading Regional Championships. The problem was the squad had trouble getting it together. She couldn't blame them, though: she knew it was a complex routine. But she knew they could do it; she had faith in her team. If only Bonnie did, too.

"Too bad, Kim. I think we should complain to whoever came up with that fussy routine. Ohhh.. That was you, wasn't it?" Bonnie sneered as Kim lay on top of a pile of cheerleaders; the result from Kim crashing into Tara in the middle of the routine, sending them in a collision course with the rest of the team. Like trying to get the choreography from an idea to reality wasn't frustrating enough, Bonnie had to harsh on her.

_She is **so** going to get punished later._

Kim had a mental image surface briefly that made her wish the warmness in her cheeks didn't show. It involved Bonnie and an act usually reserved for naughty children. She quickly pushed it out.

Kim did her best to not miss a beat. "That _fussy routine_ is going to win the regionals tomorrow, _Bonnie_," she growled in response. "If you can remember it," she added mockingly.

The look on Bonnie's face as she whirled around and walked off made Kim regret her words. She hoped they would still get together at Ron's later. They had agreed that this was just a fling, that they were only going to go through the phase and then go their separate ways. Kim had trouble keeping in the spirit of the agreement, as she was developing actual feelings towards the fellow cheerleader.

But this wasn't the time to reflect on her relationship issues - _Relationship? Am I in a relationship?_ _Ugh, this is so complicated._ - so she forced the conflict down, for now, and prepared to take the routine from the top, again, when Ron ran up to her holding up her Kimmunicator.

"You'll never guess who needs your help."

Kim took one look at the screen and saw that Ron was actually right: she couldn't believe it (the person needing the help part, not the Ron being right part, though that, too, was pretty amazing).

"Dr. Drakken?"

≈O≈

The day couldn't get any worse.

After responding to a call for help from who apparently was a military officer temporarily occupying the body of one of her arch foes, Dr. Drakken, Kim and Ron had brought the guy to her place. Oh, and there was that little mishap of getting their brains switched. Drakken had developed a device that could switch two people's brains, no matter how implausible it sounded. One should never try to apply laws of nature to mad science. Anyway, in the midst of the fight with the mad scientist's goons Kim and Ron had stumbled into the machine and triggered it. Talk about wandering minds.

Since Kim didn't trust Ron alone with her body, she insisted (which is to say, demanded) that he sleep over at her place. He agreed, but he still had to go get some clothes for Kim to wear while in his body, and to let his parents know what was going on. With all this weird stuff going on Kim forgot Bonnie was at Ron's waiting for her.

_Oh crap_, Kim exclaimed internally as the thought finally occured to her. She excused herself with a vague explanation of checking something out, leaving 'Drakken' with her parents.

≈O≈

Ron was about to enter his room, when he thought he heard music coming from the inside. _Is that the album Kim gave me?_

As he went in, the sight that greeted him froze him in place. What was going on? What was Bonnie doing in his room?

"Wha-"

"You could have at least called me. Like I haven't got better things to do than sitting around in this gorchy room."

She got up and strode up to him. "How about you make up for that remark earlier."

She kissed him. Hard. Like the day hadn't been confusing enough, now Ron had to deal with the hottie attached to his lips, invading his mouth. Kim's lips. Whatever.

Ron knew he was going to pay for it later, but opportunities like this didn't come around very often, or _ever_. He grabbed Bonnie's rear. It was everything he had imagined it would be - no, better. In contrast to every scenario Ron had feared, the brunette merely moaned her approval. Despite the logical part of his mind objecting loudly, it was being overrun by the hormone-driven teenboy part, wondering just how far Bonnie would let him, her, take it. As the logical part was silenced to a mere whisper, Ron started moving his hand upwards, or to him, heavenwards. His mind nearly went into lockdown when he noticed Bonnie wasn't objecting in the least.

"Ron! What are you doing?!" Kim screamed as she entered the room.

_I'm dead. Oh well, it was worth it._

Surprised by Ron - or more accurately: his body - bursting in, Bonnie jumped back. "Do you mind!" Then she thought back. "Did you just call her Ron? And what's with your voice?"

"It's kind of a long-," Kim began her explanation, only to be cut off by Ron.

"We switched brains," he said simply.

Bonnie stared at Ron - in Kim's body - for a moment, then she looked at Kim, and then back at Ron. "You don't actually expect me to believe that?"

"It's true. Dr. Drakken's machine did it," Kim said.

"So, if what you say is true, that means I just kissed Ron?"

"Yeah," Ron rubbed the back of his neck, with Kim glaring at him.

Bonnie covered her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Hey!" Ron protested. "I didn't hear you complaining a minute ago."

"Yeah, but that was before-"

"You couldn't tell it wasn't me?" Kim asked, offended. "Was he better than me?" she demanded suddenly.

"No! He was... different."

Ron winced: Bonnie should know better.

"Different? Different how?"

"Aren't we getting off the subject: Ron being a big pig."

"Fine," Kim said after a moment of staring at Bonnie. "But don't think you're off the hook."

For the moment united with a common purpose, the girls faced Ron once again. He could only look down, grind the tip of his foot on the floor with his hands clasped behind his back.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Kim asked.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it."

"I told you he was a pig," Bonnie commented.

"I'm starting to agree with you."

"Come on," Ron pleaded in defense of his honor. "First of all, she came on to me before I had a chance to do anything."

Kim gave Bonnie an annoyed glance.

"I thought it was you!"

Kim turned back to Ron. "And second?"

"Well... It's not like I haven't thought about it before. She's one of the hottest girls in school. I guess I just thought that this could be my only chance with a girl like her."

"Got that right," Bonnie huffed.

"Okay, okay. I think we need to let this go for now. We have a bigger problem at the moment."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Oh, for the love of-," Kim said pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You're in my girlfriend's body!" Bonnie yelled.

"Oh, yeah, that," Ron said.

"Girlfriend?" Kim asked.

"What?"

"You... said I was your girlfriend."

"Oh, shut up. You know what I meant."

Kim wasn't sure that she did. Even if she herself had used the word, though only in her own head, Bonnie hadn't recognized their thing as a relationship like this before. Was it an honest mistake or a Freudian slip?

"Hey, focus," Bonnie impatiently interrupted Kim's staring. "You two," she said, waving her finger at the mixed up teens for emphasis, "need to fix this."

"Why? So you can get your toy back?" Ron said acidly.

"Ron!" Kim exclaimed, shocked at Ron's sudden hostility. It wasn't like him to attack people this way.

"What the hell are you talking about, Stoppable?" Bonnie asked.

Ron thought for a moment if he should just have it out right then and there, but decided to keep it to himself. He knew about Kim and Bonnie's arrangement, but he also knew that Kim was past just it being a phase. Though he might seem oblivious to the world around him, very little concerning Kim got past him. It was only natural considering they'd spent a decade together, almost on a daily basis.

Ron was pretty sure Kim was starting to have feelings for Bonnie. And because of that, he was starting to resent Bonnie's frivolous attitude towards Kim and their relationship. However, he realized there really was nothing he could do unless Kim made a conscious decision to be serious about her and Bonnie, who Ron doubted would be very sympathetic.

"Nothing. It's nothing," Ron told them, trying to steer the discussion away from the volatile subject. "You're right, we should start looking for Drakken."

Kim frowned deeply as she stared at Ron, trying to figure out what his deal was. She reluctantly broke the stare at his conceding reply. "Well, we can't do anything until Wade finds his new hiding place."

"So what's the plan till he does?" Bonnie asked.

"We'll head over to my place and try to figure out what Drakken was after. Ron, grab some clothes for me to wear. We need to be heading back."

Without a word, Ron complied. He set out putting together a few sets of clothes, mostly consisting of tan cargo pants and red jerseys.

Kim looked at Bonnie. "Look-"

"We'll get together after you get back in your own body. No need to get all mushy about it."

"Right. No mushy."

"Okay, I'm finished," Ron announced. "I'll just leave a note for my parents and we can go."

"You're explaining this on a note?" Kim asked, surprised.

"Actually, I'm just telling them I'll be over at your place."

"You're not even gonna tell them what happened? Don't you think they should know? What if you run into them?"

"That is my way of telling them."

"That's downright devious, Stoppable. I'm impressed," Bonnie said appreciatively.

"There's so many things wrong with that, I don't even know where to start," Kim said.

"Then don't," Ron said, a little more curtly than intended. He looked away and continued, "Besides, shouldn't we be questioning the guy squatting in Drakken's body?"

When the group finally left, it was clear that Ron and Kim were in need of a long talk. The walk home was silent and uncomfortable. When they reached the Possible residence, it took Kim considerable effort to switch to mission mode. After talking to Private Dobbs, the military officer occupying Drakken's body, and finding out he'd been assigned to guard something called the Neutronolizer, they'd concluded that that was what Drakken was after. They didn't know what it did, but most likely, neither did Drakken. With the official business finally out of the way, Kim and Ron retired to her room.

"Okay, Ron: spill." Kim wasted no time or words.

"Spill what?" Ron asked as he sat down on Kim's bed.

Kim sat beside him. "Something's up with you. You've been on my and Bonnie's case all day. And it's not the first time." After Ron just looked away, she grew nervous. "I thought you were okay with me and Bonnie being, you know, together."

"Are you? Together?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"You said you agreed just being in it for the occasional tongue wrestle. That there was nothing more to it."

"I did. And I am."

"Are you? Are you really?"

"What's this all about?"

"You were supposed to be my best friend."

"What are you talking about? I _am_ your friend. Nothing's going to change that."

"Then why have you been blowing me off for someone you said doesn't mean anything to you?"

"It's not that simple."

"Yes it is. Is our friendship still important to you?"

"How can you ask me that? You know I love you."

"Then you do care about Bonnie?"

"I-" Kim hesitated.

"It's okay, Kim," Ron reassured his friend. He laid his hand on top of her hands resting in her lap. "You can tell me."

Kim hesitated to put what she'd been feeling into words. She had tried blocking it out, she had tried denying it, and if she were to actually say it out loud, who knew what direction her life would take. Up to now she'd had almost everything figured out. Then Bonnie happened. Even after everything she had said and done to her and Ron, Kim couldn't ignore the new development: "I think I'm falling for her."

"Whoa. Didn't see that coming," Ron said - though it wasn't exactly true. He had seen the signs, which was the very reason for the conversation they were having, but to actually hear it out loud took him by surprise. Especially when he was expecting something more in the lines of "like-like", not the other four-letter L-word that was implied.

"I know," Kim said before launching into a tirade, "I mean she's a total witch and all she wants in me is to make out not to mention other things. I mean, would it be too much to say _something_ nice or at least show some affection when we're not all hot and heavy-"

"Slow down, Kim," Ron interjected, giving Kim a chance to catch her breath. "And feel free to elaborate on these _other things_."

Kim's shoulders collapsed. "In spite of all that... I think I'm falling in love with her."

"We're talking about Bonnie Rockwaller, right? The girl who deals putdowns like they were going out of style?"

"I know."

"I get why you'd want to do what you've been doing so far, the girl's hot, but love...?"

"Believe me, Ron, I know. I'm not happy about it, but I just can't help it."

Trying to think of something supportive to say, Ron chose to quote one of his favorite TV shows: "Love isn't a decision, it's a feeling. If we could decide who we love, it would be much simpler, but much less magical."

Kim stared at Ron in amazement of his sudden insight. "Who said that?" she asked, sure that he had heard it somewhere.

"A French twig in a cartoon."

"Smart twig," Kim said. She then pulled Ron into a tight hug. "Thanks, Ron. I'm really glad you're my friend."

"Me, too," Ron replied. He was happy to have this little moment with his best friend, as their time together had been rather limited lately, but something was off. It wasn't too long before he figured out what it was. "I think I'd enjoy this more if I was in my own body," he said.

"Speak for yourself," Kim replied.

"Lezzie."

"Dateless Wonder."

"This from the girl who was so afraid to ask out guys she switched to girls."

Kim started chuckling. Shortly, so did Ron. Gradually it turned into full-blown laughter and they had to let each other go and they fell on the bed laughing.

When they had eventually had stopped laughing, Ron had a disconcerting issue pop into his head. "What are we going to do about changing?" he asked.

"When we find Drakken we'll just make him change us back," Kim replied.

"No, I meant: how are we going to change clothes? There are bound to be, umm, things showing."

Kim's eyes went wide. "I didn't even think about that."

They looked at each other. This was going to be _so_ awkweird.

* * *

TBC...

A/N: A big smilie to anyone who recognizes the quote Ron used.


	4. The Old Switcheroo, part 2

A/N: Okay, sorry again for taking so long, but chapter 4 is finally here. I had to cut it again, so there'll also be a part 3. I promise some hot and heavy moments after I wrap up this episode :). Also, I'd like to announce that beginning with this chapter, the beta for the story will be the lovely and talented _Absentialuci_, the Queen of the KP Chat Room.

PS. I'm very disappointed that no one recognized the quote in the previous chapter. It was from the South Park episode "Chef Aid", spoken by Mr. Twig, Mr. Hat's replacement.

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Old Switcheroo, Part 2**

≈O≈

"Just close your eyes and let me do the work."

"That's what she said."

"Ron, can't you be serious for one little minute?"

"Sorry, KP."

"Now whatever you do, _do not_ open your eyes. Your life depends on it."

Ron gulped, and squeezed his eyes tighter. Kim removed the remaining articles of clothing, bra and panties, from the now-feminine body of Ron. Kim turned him towards the shower and directed him in.

Downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Possible were having their morning coffee. As hard as he tried to concentrate on reading his newspaper, Mr. Possible couldn't help but once again glance up towards the ceiling. "Are you sure it was such a good idea letting them handle the changing and showering themselves?" he asked when he noticed his wife had caught him.

"I'm sure they'll handle it just fine," Mrs. Possible assured her husband. "Besides, what else could we have done? It's not like they'd let us handle it."

"They might let you do it. You're a doctor."

"Something about a grown woman stripping down and showering a teenaged boy just doesn't sound right," she smiled.

"I'll tell you, that Ronald better not do anything inappropriate."

"Right. And if he does we'll chain him in the basement and make him watch Small Cottage On The Plain to teach him proper morals," Mrs. Possible said in an exaggeratedly serious tone. "Honey, he's a teenager. It's only natural for him to be curious. And as long as we've known him, he's been nothing but a gentleman towards our Kimmie."

"But-"

"And if he should slip up this time, I think Kim is more than capable of straightening him out."

"It's the 'straightening' I'm worried about," Mr. Possible mumbled, earning a look from his wife.

Back upstairs, Kim began hosing down Ron. As instructed, Ron stood eyes closed, his arms extended to the sides. Kim picked up a sponge, sudsed it up, and began washing her astray body.

Even though Kim knew it was her body, watching it from the outside like this, she didn't feel like she was watching herself. It was as if she was showering with a stranger. The harder she tried to fight it, the more she found herself looking at herself in a way that made her feel dirty. And not entirely in the good way.

Then she noticed something going on downstairs.

"Ron."

"Yeah, KP?"

"There's something weird happening.. umm.. below the equator."

"Don't worry, hamburgers don't really eat people in Rand McNally. I checked."

"No, I meant in my, well your, pants."

"Ohh... That."

"Is this normal?"

"I guess. Happens all the time."

"Is there a way to make it go away?"

"Just think unsexy thoughts."

Kim sighed in frustration - being a girl was so much easier. She closed her eyes and conjured up the most disturbingly unappealing images possible. From Mr. Barkin to Killigan, they all made an appearance in their underwear. Still, they all ended up morphing into Bonnie. The bootylicious brunette kept following her everywhere. The otherwise welcome sight wasn't helping her now, and it took a massive amount of concentration to finally rid her of the temptating visual, and her problem with it.

She let out a relieved exhale, and prepared for the next phase. "Okay, Ron, brace yourself: I'm going down south," she informed her friend.

The following few moments were awkward for both of them, though Ron kind of wished it would have taken a little longer - the stream of water felt surprisingly pleasant. All too soon, Kim turned off the water. "No wonder you take so long in the shower," Ron said as Kim started toweling him off. She continued without saying a word, blushing furiously.

After Kim had gotten underwear on Ron, it was her turn in the shower. She closed her eyes voluntarily. Ron had nothing she wanted to see.

The procedure was mostly fairly straightforward. As Ron got below the waist, he was suddenly very grateful of being circumcised, as a simple rinse was sufficient to clean his privates without needing to touch anything or pull anything back.

With the awkward part thankfully over, their morning routine was down to picking out the clothes and heading to school. The walk was abnormally silent, as both of them kept pondering how their friendship had suddenly moved to a strange new place.

≈O≈

The mediterranean villa bathed in the light of the full moon. On the terrace, Bonnie rested in the arms of the handsome latino, resplended in her expensive, and therefore fabulous, evening gown. The man was equally dashing in silk.

"For you I would catch the moon and hang it outside your window," he spoke in a smooth, accented voice.

"Oh, Enrique," Bonnie swooned and kissed him. The kiss was long and passionate. "That was incredible," she said as they finally separated.

"You're telling me," came the awfully feminine reply. When Bonnie's vision refocused, she saw a familiar redhead staring back at her.

"Kim? What are you doing here? Where's Enrique?"

"Don't ask me, this is your dream. If I'm here, it's because you want me to be."

"Yeah, like I'd-" Bonnie's reply was cut off as Kim began kissing her neck. The brunette let out a sigh. The kisses went around her neck, ending up in the back as Kim had moved behind her. The dreamed up redhead grabbed the straps in Bonnie's dress and moved them over her shoulders.

"What are you-?"

"You always wanted to go further," Kim said in a playful tone, her warm breath caressing Bonnie's ear. Before she had a chance to come back, Kim let go of the straps, letting the dress drop on the floor. As Bonnie looked down, she realized she wasn't wearing anything underneath. She quickly tried to cover herself with her hands.

"Come now, let me see those bonbons," Kim teased, and brought her hands in front, sliding them under Bonnie's hand and arm until she had two handfuls of Bonnie.

"To tell you the truth, I'm actually your subconscious trying to tell you something," Kim said as she massaged the quivering brunette's breasts.

"What?" Bonnie breathed.

Kim's other hand began sliding down. "What I'm trying to make you realize, is that-"

**_"Wake up, uglyhead!"_** a duo of annoying voices yelled, giving Bonnie a rude awakening.

"With all that 'beauty sleep', you still ain't getting any prettier," Connie ridiculed from the door, Lonnie laughing beside her.

"Get out!" Bonnie screamed and threw her pillow at the door and her sisters. They dodged the fluffy projectile and filled the corridor with their laughter as they walked off.

_Crap! It's morning... _Bonnie repeated her morning mantra. It had been years since she had had a pleasant awakening. Today, the only thing that almost made her smile, was that she would get to see Kim. _Lord help me, I'm actually looking forward to seeing that over-achieving goody-goody_, she bemoaned. Then an even more disconcerting thought came up. _And she's in that loser's body. Great! Just great!_

With a deep sigh, she got up from the bed. _Must have been a good dream_, she thought as she noticed the damp state of her underwear. _Too bad I can't remember any of it. Something about __bonbons..._

She gave up trying to remember the dream, and prepared mentally for the daily battle for the bathroom. This time she was fully prepared to deal some hurt if her sisters got in the way. She was pleasantly surprised, however, to see that they had already come and gone. She must have slept later than usual.

After a long, hot shower, Bonnie came downstairs to find the family – and she used that term loosely – gathered around the kitchen table.

"Good morning, Bonnie," her mother greeted her.

"Morning," she replied unenthusiastically, and dropped on a chair. She grabbed a box of cereal from the table and filled the empty bowl in front of her.

"So what are you going to do today to drag down the family name?" Connie asked.

Bonnie had taken enough of her sisters' crap to be able to shrug it off. "I was thinking about going gay," she replied nonchalantly as she reached for the milk.

"Don't even joke about that!" Lonnie gasped.

"If a Rockwaller ever turned out to be gay, we couldn't show our faces in public anymore," Connie deplored, resembling more a snobby socialite than the College dropout she was. Actually, dropout was too polite: it would suggest she had had a choice in the matter.

"Why should you care? It's not like it's a big deal these days," Bonnie asked, trying as hard as she could to hide the fact that she was actually insulted.

"Well, it should be. It's perverse," Connie replied.

"And it's wrong," Lonnie chimed in.

"Girls, can we please stop talking about such distasteful matters at breakfast."

Bonnie stared at her mother: her, too?

"The lezzie lover here started it," Connie instantly tried to shift blame.

Bonnie bristled and opened her mouth before her brain caught up. "At least I'm not a big slut who got kicked out of College for sleeping with the dean's husband!"

"I didn't sleep with the dean's husband!" Lonnie objected.

"Oh, that's right, you did her son."

Mrs. Rockwaller slammed her fist on the table. "Bonnie Elizabeth Rockwaller! You go upstairs right now and wash that filthy mouth of yours!"

"But, mom-"

"But nothing. I will not listen to this when we eat. Go!"

"Fine," Bonnie huffed and stormed off.

"Bye, Lezzie lov-" Lonnie started.

"Shut it!" Mrs. Rockwaller snapped. "You two keep quiet, and eat your breakfast."

Bonnie growled as she slammed the door to her room shut. She dropped heavily on the chair by her desk, wishing her sisters to the lowest hell. She had had it with her family. If only her father was here. Even though she knew it was no use, after three years, Bonnie still kept hoping her father would return from his business trip one day. Business trip; how dumb did her mother think she was? It was obvious that he had split. And with a family like this, who could blame him?

Bonnie reached for the locket hanging from the desklamp, and opened it, revealing a hidden key. The key fit to a drawer in her desk, from where she dug out a framed picture. The minute she laid eyes on it, she smiled. The six-year-old girl in the picture seemed so happy sitting on her father's shoulders. She had been. Up until he had left, Bonnie had worshipped the ground he walked on. She had always been daddy's girl, and was well aware that she monopolized him. She figured that was one of the reasons her sisters resented her. But it made it that much harder for her to understand why he had abandoned her.

After minutes of reminiscing of happier days long gone, she finally deposited the picture back in the drawer and re-hid the key. She had another day of school to get ready for.

Upon arriving at Middleton High, Bonnie, as per usual, sought the companionship of Tara Strong. The self-appointed queen of the Sophomore class always felt at ease with the bubbly blonde. Though not big on introspection, Bonnie had a pretty good understanding of why that was. With Tara what you saw was what you got. She simply didn't have it in her to play games or connive behind people's backs. Though Bonnie herself was quite skilled at the High School powerplay, she found it relaxing to be able to let her guard down a little, if only for a moment.

"Hi, Bonnie. Aren't you super-psyched about the Regionals today?" asked the ever-effervescent cheerleader.

"Thrilled," Bonnie replied, not showing any real excitement. "Listen, Tar', we may need to tweak the routine a bit."

"Are you still on that?" Tara whined, sagging her shoulders. "It's Kim's team and she came up with the routine. Sink or swim, the captain runs the boat."

"Don't even get me started on that. I just mean that Kim's sort of incapacitated today, so she won't be able to join us."

"I just saw her a moment ago, and she seemed fine to me."

"Did she seem.. strange to you?"

"No, not really. But she did keep tugging at her pants. And Ron's posture was better than usual." Suddenly Tara's already big eyes widened. "You don't think those two are.. you know?" she asked with a lowered voice.

Bonnie stifled a burst of laughter. "Those two? No way."

"Are you sure? 'Cause they seem pretty close, and they spend so much time together."

"Believe me, he's not her type," Bonnie smiled knowingly.

"You think?" Tara asked, a smile edging on her lips.

"I know. They're just friends, for whatever reason. Why do you care, anyway?"

"No reason," Tara said quickly.

Tara had always been an open book to Bonnie – and pretty much to anyone with working eyes. But this time Bonnie really hoped she had read her friend wrong, for the alternative was sick and wrong. Not wanting to confirm her fear, she steered the conversation elsewhere. "_Any_way... Have you seen Reger?"

"I think I saw him go in the AV-room."

"Figures."

"What do you want him for?"

"I just need him to do an Internet search for me. Computers, not my thing."

The girls parted ways and Bonnie set out to find Reger. She had an important task for him, and hoped he was up to it. She just hoped the little creep didn't want a little something in return.

* * *

_TBC..._


	5. The Old Switcheroo, part 3

Author's note: Okay, finally wrapping up this "episode". I know many of you were missing the Kim on Bonnie action, so I've put in a little scene just for you :). Also, I realized I've completely forgotten Rufus, and I'm the one who suggested Rufus as the next Guess the Author topic! So, heeeere's Rufus!

Thanks to _cpneb_ for the beta.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Old Switcheroo, Part 3**

≈O≈

Kim growled in frustration as Ron failed to do a cartwheel, yet again, ending up face-first on the floor. As she watched her friend stumble back up, Kim realized this wasn't going to work. She couldn't get Ron to learn even one movement, let alone an entire choreography, and she only had until the end of the day. Desperate times called for desperate measures: she would have to do it herself. She just had to come up with a convincing story why 'Kim' couldn't perform, and how 'Ron' was able to substitute for her.

Kim told Ron of her plan, and he quickly came up with the idea to "secret borrow" some crutches from the nurse's office, to make it look like Kim had hurt her leg. She approved of the plan and set out to find Bonnie and fill her in. As part of the popular clique, she wasn't aware of the danger when she decided to cut through D-hall.

Not long after Kim had entered the most infamous section of school property, two boys stepped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. One big, one small – both of them seeming none-too-bright. "Hold it, Stoppable," the big one said in a menacing voice. "You know you can't come this way."

"Yeah," the smaller chimed in. "D-hall's been declared a loser-free zone," he said, giggling at his own joke.

Kim didn't want to get caught up in a fight with the 'missing links', so she started to back up.

"You forgetting something?" the bigger asked. "My money," he put out his hand.

"What money?" Kim asked.

"You sound funnier than usual, Stoppable," the smaller said.

"Um, um," she stammered. "Puberty," she said, trying to lower her voice.

"Well, here's something to help you with that voice," the big one said, and drove his fist into Kim's gut. Her lungs emptied, and she dropped on her knees gasping for air. The smaller stepped up and went through her pockets, pulling out a five-dollar bill.

"Next time, have more money," he said, and kicked Kim in the shoulder, knocking her over. The pair walked off, chuckling.

Slowly Kim regained her breath, and as she got up from the floor, watching the distancing backs of the bullies, she was consumed with rage. The fact that they had roughed her up didn't bother her one bit. The thing that really got to her was that Ron had to deal with these guys day in and day out. And he hadn't complained to her about it once. She had no idea this was going on. She had seen him with bruises a couple of times, but he'd always told her he had just fallen down. Kim was furious at herself that she'd actually believed him. But Ron was naturally clumsy – how was she to know?

Well, no more. She wasn't going to let this go on. It was time to give those guys some sensitivity training.

Kim followed them down the hall until the two went into the bathroom, otherwise known as the "bad boy" bathroom. Wasting no time, she went in after them.

"You two are about to get a lesson in human decency," Kim said menacingly.

Both bullies turned around. "Look, the loser has a deathwish," the smaller one said.

"Well, who are we to deny a dying man's last wish," the bigger said.

Fully ready and willing, Kim made the 'bring it' motion with her hand. Normally this would have been a walk in the park for someone as athletic as Kim, but she was in Ron's body now and she had no idea what it was capable of. She had to start out slow.

She didn't get the chance as the big one grabbed her by the front of her jersey. Working on pure instinct, she grabbed his hands, twisted them outward, and as he dropped to his knees she flipped backwards, delivering a sharp kick to the chin. It wasn't as hard as she had feared it would be – in fact, it was easy. Emboldened with the discovery, Kim went full throttle. It didn't take long for her to finish the two off. They were left whimpering on the bathroom floor as she let herself out, dusting off her hands as she did.

Kim was amazed at how capable Ron's body actually was. Why hadn't Ron ever made use of it? Was he holding back, and if he was, why?

≈O≈

The plan seemed to go off without a hitch. The judges weren't too happy about the last minute lineup change, but let it slide, despite the formal protest lodged by the Go City Gazelles.

As it came Middleton's turn, there was some murmur in the crowd, many of them not believing the person they thought was the pants-losing sidekick could cheer himself out of a wet paper bag. The murmurs turned into gasps as the troupe started the routine and he was doing flips and jumps with the best of them. The crowd went wild with cheers when they saw Ron doing Kim's signature triple aerial somersault with a split landing. A move Kim regretted doing - Ron's boy parts didn't take too well to the extreme stretching and hard landing.

Afterwards, as they sat on the bleachers sweaty and panting, Bonnie stole a glance at Kim, the real Kim. For a moment she felt she could see past the unsightly exterior, the person behind the goofy freckled face. Just before Kim glanced at her direction, Bonnie had already turned away, frowning. She stayed that way until the announcing of the scores woke her up.

The Mad Dog Cheersquad won second place.

Kim and Ron didn't get to celebrate their success for very long - Wade beeped in and announced he had found Drakken's hideout.

Kim turned to the group. "Sorry guys, we have to jet," she said, giving Bonnie a quick glance.

"Whatever. Go do your thing," Bonnie said dismissively. Inside she was already counting the seconds when she'd get to lock lips with her red-headed rival.

As soon as they had gotten outside the gym, Ron tossed the crutches and they set out to pick up Private Dobbs and put an end to Drakken's shenanigans.

≈O≈

Bonnie slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the locker room. A moment later Reger came up to her, holding up a sheet of paper.

"I found the information you wanted," Reger said.

Bonnie took the printout and examined it. "Are you sure this is current?"

"Pretty sure. It was the latest I could find."

Bonnie stared at the paper. She was desperately trying to shake the feeling of disbelief that she was actually looking at-

"What about our deal?" Reger asked anxiously, bringing Bonnie out of her thoughts.

"What? Oh, yeah, right. I'll hold up to our deal. The next time there's a party with the popular kids, you're invited."

"Right on!" Reger cheered.

"But if you embarrass me, you're done for in Middleton High," Bonnie said in a tone that said it was no threat - it was a promise. "You get me?" She drove the message home with a sharp jab in Reger's chest.

"Got it," the scared redhead squeaked.

Bonnie walked off without saying another word.

≈O≈

Kim and Ron, along with the blue-skinned Private Dobbs, sneaked behind stacks of moving crates in the timeshare lair 7B. The place was littered with them, as if everyone using the lair were also using it as a temporary storage facility.

They could hear Drakken issuing his ransom demands on the world. The world wasn't too impressed, which enraged the blue baddie and prompted him to make an example out of Paris. He ordered the coordinates to be entered on the Neutronolizer.

Kim and company had to move fast.

The teen crimefighter had already come up with a plan. She and Ron would distract Drakken and his goons while Dobbs disarmed the Neutronolizer. At which point the military official informed them he'd only been assigned to guard the device, he didn't know the first thing about operating it.

Kim rolled her brown eyes. "Okay, new plan."

Suddenly the crate in front of them exploded, disintegrating in a crackling blast of blue energy.

"No new plan!" Drakken yelled, surrounded by Shego and his goons.

"Looks like we have to do this the quick and dirty way," Kim sighed. She lunged at Shego. Drakken and the henchmen wisely backed away. Ron took his cue and ran into the maze of crates, drawing a good number of henchmen after him.

Dobbs was left standing alone. Well, not completely alone - he had Drakken and a couple henchmen to keep him company. Said henchmen promptly grabbed him and brought him to their boss.

Drakken eyed Dobbs viciously. "I want my body."

"Y'all can have it. It's ugly. And it itches something fierce!" Dobbs spat back defiantly. He soon found himself manhandled into position under the brainswitch machine. Not that he had to be - he was as eager to switch back as Drakken was - but he was a prisoner and was treated accordingly.

≈O≈

Ron screamed as he ran from his glowy-stick wielding pursuers. "Rufus!" he called, and the naked mole-rat scurried from his pocket onto his shoulder. "Go see if you can disable the Neutrono-thingy. Oh, and while you're at it, this place could use some self-destructing when we're done."

"Gotcha!" Rufus acknowledged and jumped down, running off in a pink flash.

Ron continued to run aimlessly through the crate-lined corridors, being seriously pushed out of his comfort zone. It wasn't enough that he was running for his life, he was also feeling way too exposed with the skirt fluttering all over the place. "Give me a break, I'm wearing a skirt!" he complained, trying to keep the skirt from doing a Marilyn Monroe.

Next to him, a crate exploded in a ball of green fire. Behind it he saw Kim and Shego going at it. Even in the heat of battle, Kim was able to quip: "Now you know what it's like!"

"Less chat, more smack," Shego said and swiped at Kim. Kim bent backwards and the hit went over her chest. She continued the move into a backflip, delivering an upward kick in the process. Shego took the hit and dropped on the ground.

Looking at the prone form of her enemy, Kim couldn't help but notice how good the green villainess looked in her form-fitting jumpsuit. For some reason she couldn't stop stealing glances at Shego's crime-sculpted body, especially now that the woman was lying partially on her side, her buns of steel on full, drool-inducing display. Her appreciation for the older woman's curves didn't go unnoticed.

"Possible, were you just checking out my ass?" Shego asked.

"So not," Kim denied instantly.

"I'm pretty sure you were," Shego said as got up on her feet.

"Well if I was, it was because I'm in Ron's body," Kim explained hastily.

"That so doesn't make any sense. It's still _your_ brain."

Kim opened her mouth but no words came out:

The cat burglar got her tongue.

≈O≈

Drakken took his place under the machine. He was beside himself - literally. One of his more capable henchmen manned the controls of the machine.

"Throw the switch!" Drakken ordered.

The henchman at the control panel pushed the lever, and the machine came alive with electric whirr and buzz. After a loud lightshow, the machine wound down, releasing puffs of steam.

"There's no body like my body," Drakken said as he stepped out from under the machine and removed the headgear. Two henchmen grabbed Dobbs and dragged him away. Drakken turned to the man at the controls of the brainswitch machine. "Initialize Neutronolizer firing sequence."

The henchman did as told and began working the controls of the Neutronolizer. No sooner had he touched the first button than the whole control panel went up in smoke.

"What did you do!?" Drakken yelled. He didn't see the little pink rodent running from under the machine into hiding.

Suddenly, Ron burst from behind the crates running and screaming. Everyone looked at him stupefied as he rocketed through the control area. Their surprise turned to horror as Ron tripped on a cable and rolled through the air into a wall, hitting the clearly marked self-destruct button with his rear.

≈O≈

The alarms blared as a recorded voice announced: "Self-destruct activated. The lair will self-destruct in 30 seconds. We at Lairco hope our lair fulfilled your evil needs. Have a nice day."

"Well, I guess that's my cue," Shego said. "Later, Princess. Do feel free to enjoy the view as I'm leaving."

"I was _not_ checking out your butt!" Kim shouted after her.

"_**Self-destruct in 20 seconds."**_

Kim snapped to as she remembered she still had a brain to switch. She started running and soon came to the control area and saw Ron lying on the floor with Rufus chattering at him. With Drakken and his goons already gone, Private Dobbs walked freely into the control area.

"Dobbs, take the controls," Kim told him. She went to Ron and pulled him up. "Come on, Ron, we're kind of in a hurry."

Ron wobbled with Kim to the brainswitch machine and they put on the headgear. Kim gave the signal to Dobbs.

"_**Self-destruct in 10 seconds."**_

Dobbs pushed the lever, starting another loud lightshow.

After way too long, the machine finally turned off. Ron quickly patted himself down. Upon reaching his crotch he sighed big with relief. Next to him, Kim did the same holding her chest.

"We best be getting outta here!" Dobbs yelled as the self-destruct countdown reached zero.

Explosions started rocking the place all around them, and they started running towards the exit, dodging falling rubble and broken crates along the way. They managed to escape by the skin of their teeth.

Outside they saw a large gathering of military forces converging on their location, coming to retrieve their stolen property. Kim was all prepared to apologize for destroying the still of unknown purpose device, when the dust began to settle and amidst the remains of the leveled lair, stood the Neutronolizer, as good as new. Apparently, "the thing was dang near indestructible," Private Dobbs chuckled.

≈O≈

It didn't take too long after getting home for Kim to call Bonnie and tell her about their successful mission. Bonnie wasn't too interested in the mission other than that Kim was all woman again, and wanted to hook up. At so late in the day, the choices for venues for their meeting were somewhat limited. But Kim came up with a suggestion.

"How about we take in a movie?"

≈O≈

The moving pictures on the screen cast a dim, flickering light on the otherwise dark theater. There were only a few people in the seats - mostly pretentious film students who were there to enjoy the _art of cinema_ in the form of a subtitled foreign film that had no discernible plot nor a lucid line of dialogue. These _connoisseurs_ would have burned their berets had they known of the activity going on in the dark corner of the very last row.

After two days of not being able to "get in touch", Kim and Bonnie were taking back every second. Their tongues danced a hot, acrobatic tango while their hands roamed the bodyscapes on a voyage of rediscovery. No nook nor cranny was left unexplored.

Bonnie began feeding on Kim's neck. She kissed it, nibbled at it, licked it up and down. Her exploring hand crept under Kim's shirt and felt-

Both of them stopped and stared at each other in shock.

"You're... not wearing a bra," Bonnie stated the source of their surprise.

"I... I guess I forgot to put one on."

A moment went by with the two girls just staring at each other, not knowing what to do. Bonnie made the first move and went in for a kiss. Kim closed her eyes and gave in to it. Encouraged by the lack of resistance, Bonnie continued where she had left off and started fondling Kim's breast. Being the first time doing so with nothing in between, Bonnie took the time enjoying the feeling of Kim's soft, yielding flesh under her fingers. Under the guidance of Kim's approving moans and sighs, it didn't take long for her to zero in on what worked for the redhead. She soon had the teen heroine moaning at her will.

All of a sudden Kim stopped and pulled back. "Bonnie, can we stop for a sec," she said, breathing heavily.

"Why? It was just getting good."

"Uh, Bonnie. Sweetie, would you mind if we just cuddled for a while?"

"I _don't_ cuddle. And don't call me Sweetie."

"Please? Just this once," Kim pleaded. "It's been a long day, with the regionals and fighting Drakken... I just need a little breather."

As strong-willed as she was, even Bonnie couldn't resist the Puppy-Dog Pout. "Fine," she acquiesced grudgingly. "But just this once."

"Thanks, B," Kim said and kissed Bonnie on the cheek. The perturbed brunette watched Kim snuggle in under her arm and rest her head on her shoulder. For the first time since they sat down Bonnie turned to watch the movie. She didn't really pay any attention to it, she was too caught up in her thoughts.

Bonnie was annoyed. Cuddling was couple stuff. Mushy couple stuff. They were _not_ a couple. And she didn't do mushy. All she wanted was someone to make out with. Not a... cuddle-buddy. If she had wanted to cuddle, she'd have gone and bought a Pandaroo, or a Flamingoat.

Though as much as she hated to admit it, it really wasn't that bad. It actually felt kinda nice. Feeling Kim's peaceful breathing against her had something of a calming, relaxing effect. Maybe just this once she could enjoy a quiet moment. She certainly wasn't going to make a habit of it.

Something drew Bonnie's attention - Kim reached out and took Bonnie's free hand. Bonnie instantly tried to yank it away, but Kim held on as if it were treasure. Bonnie sighed in defeat, bringing a triumphant smirk on the palm-pirate's lips.

Bonnie settled in, but not before pinching Kim in the arm, making the redhead yelp. Not long after the two had settled in, without even realizing it, Bonnie's finger began playing with Kim's hair. A few moments later, Bonnie realized Kim had fallen asleep. She didn't wake her until the movie ended.

≈O≈

Bonnie sat at her vanity dresser and for once wasn't staring at herself. Her gaze was fixed on the printout given to her by Ron Reger. He'd actually found the information she was after, now clearly printed on the sheet of paper lying on her dresser. On the paper lay Bonnie's cellphone with a number already punched in. Her finger hovered over the green "Call" button.

She'd dreamt about this moment for years, and it was now at her reach. All she needed was to push a button.

Bonnie's finger finally rested on the button. She took a deep breath.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	6. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

A/N: Again, I'm super sorry for the long wait. After the last chapter, I concentrated on "The Boys Are Back In Town", and after I finally (I'd been working on the story for over a year) finished it, I took a little break to recharge my creative batteries.

Well, I'm back, and I present you with the longest chapter yet, with plenty of the good stuff. Enjoy!

And many thanks to my friend and beta, _cpneb_.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun**

≈O≈

Tara rolled her baby-blue eyes and let out a frustrated sigh as she watched their cheer workout being once again turned into a shouting match between their top two cheerleaders, Kim and Bonnie. Tara was quickly reaching her limit as what was supposed to be her fun-time, was time and time again ruined by _those two_. They didn't even seem notice they weren't the only ones there, they were so caught up in their ferocious exchange of barbs.

As the two cheerleaders' relationship (a word never uttered aloud between the two) had went on, outwardly they continued as normal. Bonnie made disparaging remarks as usual, and as she was getting to know Kim better, she was hitting some sensitive areas, and vice versa. All that made for some heated arguments, like the one they were having now.

After a few minutes, Tara had had enough. "Would you two just _SHUT UP_!" she shouted, much to the surprise of everyone. They had never seen the blonde to yell at anyone. Even Kim and Bonnie stopped their bickering and stared, dumbstruck, at the livid blonde.

"God, what is wrong with you two?" Tara berated the two troublemakers. "Can't you for once act nice so we can get some work done? If you haven't noticed, our perfomances haven't exactly been anything to brag about. It's a miracle we even ranked in the Regionals last week."

Both Kim and Bonnie were mortified. To be scolded like this, and by Tara of all people. Even the usually so defiant Bonnie, stood there looking like a disciplined child.

"Tara, I-," Kim started.

"No, I've had it. Unless you two work out whatever's pushing your bitch-buttons, I'm not gonna bother. I'm outta here." With that, Tara tossed her pom-poms and stormed out, leaving the rest of the squad standing there, stupefied.

Bonnie smacked Kim in the arm. "Nice going, Kim, you've upset Tara!"

"Me? You started it!"

"Whatever," Bonnie said. She rushed after her friend. "Tara!"

Kim turned back to the squad. They were all glaring at her. "What?" she asked.

The girls kept glancing nervously at each other, before finally Crystal stepped forward. "Kim, Tara isn't alone. We all feel that your and Bonnie's fighting is hurting the squad. So, unless you can resolve your issues, we think that..."

"What?" Kim prompted.

Marcella continued where Crystal had left off: "Either you or Bonnie should step down. And since Bonnie has seniority..."

Kim's eyes flew wide with shock. "You want _me_ to quit?"

"We don't want either of you to leave," Crystal said.

"But we can't go on like this," Marcella continued.

Kim simply couldn't believe her ears. Just because Bonnie couldn't keep her trap shut, she was facing the possibility of being fired from the squad.

"Fine," Kim huffed. "I'll go talk to her." She left for the locker room, her mind set on laying down the law to her guilty pleasure.

≈O≈

Bonnie found Tara in the locker room, just as she was walking into the showers. The towel-wrapped blonde paid no attention to her as she removed the towel and stepped into the shower.

"Tara, please talk to me," Bonnie said. Hearing nothing from her friend, Bonnie leaned on the wall next to the entrance to the showers.

Bonnie wasn't used to this. Usually she would intimidate and bully people to bend to her will, even those around her she laughingly called friends. Tara was different. Bonnie would rather bite off her own tongue than hurt Tara on purpose. And now, seeing her being mad at her made Bonnie very uneasy. She did not like the feeling.

Kim walked in ready to unleash a scolding tirade - she stopped when she saw Bonnie. The brunette's sad and troubled face troubled her as well, yet another item on her rapidly growing list of things she would never have expected from "Queen B". Kim walked over and leaned on the wall as well, joining the wait. She laid her hand atop Bonnie's, knowing that was as far as she'd be able to go, and even that was pushing it.

A few minutes later they heard the water stop. Bonnie yanked her hand away roughly. Kim knew to expect this, but felt a little sting nonetheless. A moment later Tara walked past them and went to her locker. They waited quietly as Tara toweled herself off.

"You know why I started cheerleading?" Tara asked out of the blue.

"No," Kim and Bonnie answered in unison. Tara had joined a little after Kim, and Bonnie was in fact the one who had given the deciding vote during her trials. But neither of them had the faintest clue as to the other girl's motives.

"Because it seemed like fun," Tara said and slammed open the door to her locker. "Dancing, being cheered at, hanging out with fun people," she explained as she unwrapped the towel. Kim and Bonnie glanced at each other uncomfortably.

"But you two have made it not fun," Tara said, reaching into her locker. As she rummaged for her underwear, the jiggle and bounce of her luscious breasts made Bonnie lick her lips. Kim swallowed and bashfully turned her eyes away. Bonnie couldn't help herself: her eyes wandered down south, looking for a peek at the usually carefully tended garden, only to find that the blonde had gone full bulldozer on it, leaving nothing standing.

Bonnie tore her eyes from the blonde's sweaty-naughty-feelings-causing body and forced them to stay at eye-level. "How do you mean?"

"Both of you are so competitive, it's like nothing else matters but winning to you guys. Don't get me wrong, I like to win, but there's more than just being the best. And then there's the fighting... I hate seeing two of my closest friends fight all the time."

"Come on, Tar', you know we're not serious," Bonnie assured her friend. It wasn't technically true; they meant everything they said at the time, but they always made up afterwards – and making up was always fun.

"It sure looks like it."

"Okay, sure, me and Bonnie can get a little.. hot-headed, but we can't help it."

"Have you even tried?"

Bonnie wondered if sucking each other's faces off counted; that usually calmed them down.

"Okay, if you want me back, you'll do what I ask," Tara said, arms crossed, now donning a skirt and bra.

"Anything," Bonnie said quickly, surprising even herself with her readiness to make amends.

"Friday, slumber party at my place."

"A slumber party?" Bonnie snorted. "What are we, twelve?"

Kim smacked Bonnie in the arm. "We'll be there."

"Good," Tara said and turned to her locker. She put on her shirt and closed the door, turning back to Kim and Bonnie. "My place at seven. Be there," she said and walked off.

"What do you think she's got planned?" Kim asked after Tara had left the locker room.

"Knowing her, a stuffed animal parade."

"Hey, you better make nice when we go there."

"Me? I was friends with her way before you."

"Exactly. That's why you gotta make a real effort."

"Why?"

"Because you - _we_ - let her down. We need to let her know she can still trust us."

Bonnie sighed. "This is going to be a long week."

≈O≈

"A slumber party? With Bonnie and Tara?" Ron repeated, his eyes glazed over. On his shoulder, Rufus tried to snap him out of it, waving his little paw in front of Ron's face.

"Stop drooling. I don't know what you were imagining, but it ain't gonna happen, perv," Kim said sternly.

"Let a guy dream, will ya," Ron protested, still gazing at the tantalizing view before his mind's eye.

Kim pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just keep my clothes on."

"Tell that to Bonnie. Lucky she didn't tear your nightie to shreds."

Kim growled softly.

Ron held up his hands. "Okay, I'll stop."

"Good. I was just about to give you a laser lipstick lobotomy."

Ron made a zipper gesture in front of his mouth. He didn't stay quiet for long. "So are you actually going to spend the night at Tara's?" he asked, noticeably more serious.

Kim noticed the tone, but pretended not to. "That's what you do at a slumber party."

"It's just... Do you really think that's a good idea? What if you-"

"It's going to be okay. I'm not going to freak."

"But-"

"I've been to Tara's before, and Bonnie'll be there. I'll be okay," Kim assured.

"If you say so," Ron said, not at all convinced. But Kim had made up her mind, and he knew better than to try to talk her out of it.

≈O≈

Yet again Bonnie stared at the phone, her thumb poised to make the call. And, again, she chickened out. She growled in frustration and stood up, tossing the phone in the trash bin by her desk on her way to the bed. She flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Why was this so hard? She finally knew how to get in touch with her father, but she couldn't go through with it. The painful truth was: she was afraid. What if her father didn't want to talk to her? What if she found out that he left because he didn't love her anymore? What if, what if...

It was all too much. This was way too much reality for one day. Bonnie desperately needed a distraction, and knew where to get it.

≈O≈

Kim wasn't surprised to get the call. She was used to Bonnie calling her up on short notice for some late night lovin'. Normally she didn't mind the booty calls, but it had been a while since she had gotten to spend any quality time with Ron, so unless she gave a good enough reason, Bonnie wouldn't be getting any action tonight.

"Don't make me say it," Bonnie responded to Kim putting her on the spot.

"If you really want me to come to you, you'll say it. _Why_ should I come?"

Bonnie gritted her teeth, extremely annoyed at Kim's insistence. But it couldn't be helped - as much as it went against her nature, she had to tell the truth. "I-," she struggled, "_need_ you."

A broad smile grew on Kim's lips. It was exactly what she wanted to hear, had wanted to hear for a long time. "Now was that so hard?" she asked.

_You have no idea_, Bonnie thought to herself. "Just meet me at the multiplex. There's some Swedish two-hour snorefest playing tonight. Oh, and put on that cherry chapstick. I love it when you taste like cherry."

Kim hung up the phone, a warm redness on her cheeks.

She turned to Ron, who was lying on her bed with a comic in his hands. "Ron, I-"

"I get it: you're ditching me to play tonsil hockey with Bonnie. Again."

"Ron..."

"I'll be fine. I'll just be sitting here. All alone," Ron lamented theatrically.

Kim was about to start yet another round of apologizing before it hit her. She narrowed her eyes. "You're messing with me, aren't you?"

"I so am," Ron grinned victoriously.

Kim grabbed an elephant plushie and threw it at Ron. "You're horrible."

"I do what I can," Ron smiled a very self-satisfied smile.

"So you really don't mind me leaving like this?"

"Hey, she's your girlfriend. If _I_ had someone calling me to fool around, I'd be so gone."

"I'm touched," Kim said wryly.

"So I guess she gave you a good enough reason?"

Kim dropped on her bed next to Ron. "She needs me," she said with a coy smile.

"She actually said that?" Ron asked, genuinely surprised. He was vicariously aware how hard it was for Bonnie to express her feelings.

Kim nodded, smiling a little bigger.

Ron smiled. "So, what are you waiting for? Go. I have Rufus to keep me company." He looked to his hairless friend, only to see him in deep sleep at the foot of the bed.

"You don't have to stay here. Why don't you go home and play some video games or something?"

"Can't. The folks've been all lovey-dovey lately, and I don't want to walk in the middle of something," Ron said, shuddering visibly.

"You really think they'd-"

"Yeah, I think. The firm shove out the door and the 'Don't come back for a few hours' sent a pretty clear message."

"Oh, my poor Ron," Kim cooed and stroked his head. She stood up and went to her vanity dresser, digging out the tube of cherry chapstick. She applied liberally. Then she walked back to the bed and took Ron's head in her hands. "Here's something for being such a good friend and putting up with me," she said and planted a kiss on Ron's lips.

"Now, turn around," she then told the dumbstruck boy. After he did so, Kim reached under her shirt and unclasped her bra. She managed to remove the undergarment without taking off her shirt, and threw it in the closet.

She was all set for Bonnie.

≈O≈

The next day, both Kim and Bonnie came to school wearing turtlenecks. Kim got away with it combining it with her mission outfit, but Bonnie was given some hard time over hers. She saved face telling everybody it was Brick's doing.

Both got grounded.

Come Friday, they had managed to negotiate concessions to go to Tara's, with the strict condition of 'No Boys'. Neither had to lie making the promise.

≈O≈

Kim touched down in a perfect landing. Her parachute pooled on the ground neatly as she unhooked the straps from her backpack. As she started gathering up the chute, she looked around.

"Ron?"

"Up here, KP."

Kim looked up and saw Ron hanging by the ropes of his chute, having being caught in the only tree in sight; a lone elm standing in the Williams' yard.

"A little help?" Ron pleaded.

Kim shook her head and climbed up the tree. She cut the ropes and was able to help Ron onto the branches without sending him plummeting to the ground. They untangled the chute from the tree and climbed down.

Kim pushed her wadded up chute into Ron's arms. "Here, take care of this for me. I'm already late."

Ron tried to peek from behind the bundle of parachutes in his arms. "Sure. Have fun. But not too much fun," Ron grinned playfully.

"Right back at you," Kim grinned back.

As Ron set off on a wobbly journey back home, Kim went to the Williams' front door, and gave it a knock. The door opened, revealing a woman in her mid-thirties.

She was absolutely striking. At 5' 8", her athletic, yet femininely curvy in the right places, figure was covered in jeans and a purple blouse. Her luscious black hair was tied back into a mid-length ponytail, with a few errant locks over her forehead, giving her a relaxed appearance. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of dark blue Kim had ever seen.

"H-hi, Mrs. Williams," Kim stuttered nervously. She had met Tara's mom before, only now the woman's appearance seemed to have a whole unexpected new effect on her.

"Oh, hi, Kim. We've been expecting you. Just go upstairs to Tara's room. Bonnie's there already."

Kim would have gone up in a second, but her throat was so dry she was almost breathing out puffs of dust. She gathered all her courage not to break down. "Actually, could- could I have something to drink first? I just flew in from South America, and I'm a little parched."

"Of course. Come on," Mrs. Williams said and lead Kim to the kitchen. "So, what would you like? We have juice, energy drinks-"

"Water's fine, Mrs. Williams," Kim said modestly.

"Mrs. Williams is my witch of a mother-in-law. Please, Kim, call me Renee."

"Water's fine... Renee," Kim said, looking up shyly from under her brow.

"No, I know what you need," Renee said and opened upper door of the fridge.

She rummaged around, and not finding what she was looking for, switched to the lower section. Despite her dry throat, Kim swallowed as she watched the woman bend over and reach into the fridge. The jeans hugged her perfectly-formed posterior just right, the lovely round cheeks providing a vision surely of divine design.

Kim was born again a buttwoman.

"Here," Renee said victoriously. She straightened up and closed the fridge, with a plastic bottle in hand. "I bet you could use a Crocade after all that exertion."

"Please, and thank you," Kim said with a squeak, and took the proffered beverage.

"Hmm.. you look a little flushed. Are you feeling feverish?" Renee said and reached out to feel Kim's forehead.

Kim stepped back. "I'm fine. Thanks, Mrs. Williams," she said quickly and ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Strange girl," Renee said to herself. She was only used to boys acting strangely around her.

≈O≈

Kim entered Tara's room greedily gulping down the Crocade. Tara and Bonnie were sitting on the bed, talking lively.

"Hi, Kim!" Tara greeted her cheerily.

"Thirsty much?" Bonnie said.

Kim ignored the comment and finished the drink, feeling refreshed.

"Freak fighting makes a gal thirsty," Kim said. "Tara, what did your mother do for a living, again?"

"She runs her own aerobics studio. Why?"

"No reason. I'd just forgotten she had such a stunning figure."

"I know. I just wish I look that good someday," Tara said

"Come on, Tara. I'd kill to have your body," Kim said, and realizing what she'd said, blushed a light red.

Tara didn't see the smirk Bonnie gave Kim for her unintentional double-entendre.

The evening continued with Tara drilling Kim about her previous mission, and the missions in general. While Tara listened with wide-eyed wonder, Bonnie seemed disinterested, but in reality was surprised, and a little worried, of how dangerous Kim's "little hobby" actually was. It also surprised her how concerned about Kim learning the truth made her. Kim had always been all "no big", but it _was_ big. Bonnie started wondering if Kim even realized it herself.

Other subjects were discussed, but, to Kim and Bonnie's surprise, the one of their arguing wasn't broached. To them it almost seemed like Tara had completely forgotten about it. Just as well, they thought. As long as Tara was happy, they were in the clear.

As the evening went on, Tara's mom brought them two spare mattresses for Kim and Bonnie to sleep on, as well as some blankets and pillows. After setting up the makeshift beds, they changed into their sleepwear. Kim donned loose sweats and a blue tanktop with a heart in the chest. Bonnie settled for the simple panties and t-shirt, while Tara wore a traditional pink babydoll nightie with a lace ruffle trim.

A while after getting back up to speed, Tara surprised the other two girls with a strange question. "Umm, have you guys ever heard of 'girl-kissing'?" she asked timidly.

Kim and Bonnie exchanged nervous glances.

"Why?" Bonnie asked suspiciously.

"Well, I heard that there's this thing going around, with girls kissing other girls, you know, just for fun."

"And...?"

"I was just wondering if you guys would like to try it?"

Bonnie was hesitant. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

The thought seemed intriguing to Kim. For one, Tara had such kissable lips. And she was actually interested in doing a little comparison, maybe even spark some jealousy or competetive drive in Bonnie.

The deviousness of her thoughts surprised even Kim herself. _Maybe Bonnie's beginning to rub off on me_, she thought.

"Sure, I'm game," Kim said.

"Really?" both Tara and Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, why not? It could be fun," Kim said as innocently as she could. Kim turned towards Tara on the mattress she was sitting on, motioning for the blonde to come closer. Tara came up in front of Kim. She moved hesitantly, as if she was having second thoughts. She settled in a sitting position, and suddenly gave Kim a hasty peck on the lips.

"What was that?" Kim asked, amused.

"What? It was a kiss," Tara replied.

"No, that's how you kiss your mom," Kim said, losing herself in the visual for a moment. She recovered quickly, and continued: "_This_ is how you kiss."

Kim took Tara's head in her hands, and closed in on the trembling blonde. She kissed her softly, their lips interlacing. Kim pulled back just a hair, and moved in again, trapping Tara's upper lip between hers. Kim continued with similar kisses, finally bringing out her tongue. She only knocked at the gates, but never passed through, not wanting to possibly freak out the inexperienced Tara.

Bonnie watched the proceeding, mesmerized. She knew from experience that Kim was a good kisser, but watching her in action was just intoxicating. She wanted to make out so badly right now.

Kim pulled back, leaving Tara sitting in a near-trance, eyes closed. The blonde opened her eyes slowly.

"Wow, that was some- mmph," she started, only to be assaulted by Bonnie.

The brunette was hungry for some lip action, but couldn't go for Kim out of fear of being outed. So she gave her friend as passionate a kiss as she dared, in an effort to tide her over until the next day.

The two finally came apart, with Tara gasping for air.

"That. Was. Amazing," Tara praised, still looking a little woozy. "No wonder you're so into each other."

Kim and Bonnie froze. The air stood still in the absolute silence.

"What are you talking about?" Kim asked nervously.

Tara smiled at them reassuringly. "I know about you guys. You don't have to try to hide it anymore."

"How?" Bonnie asked simply.

"I've seen the way you look at each other," Tara said.

"With seething hatred?" Bonnie asked wryly.

"No. When you think no one's looking," Tara replied, giving Kim a meaningful look.

"And, when you think the other person's not looking," Tara continued, giving Bonnie an even more meaningful look.

"And, I saw you making out," she added non-chalantly as she stood up and went to sit on her own bed.

"What? Where?" Kim demanded.

"The janitor's closet."

"You couldn't have seen us in there," Kim said in disbelief, not realizing that she had just incriminated herself.

"No, but I saw you sneak in," Tara said, and grinned. "And there's only one reason people go in there."

Kim and Bonnie glanced at each other, looking embarrassed.

"You really should think of better spots. The janitor's probably the only one _not_ using the closet."

Bonnie stood up and stomped her way to Tara's bed, grabbing the blonde by the shoulders. "Tar', you can't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, guys. I'm not going to tell."

"So, what was with the kissing?" Kim asked, finally realizing Tara had known all along. "Don't tell me you're thinking of switching teams?"

"No," Tara chuckled. "I'm still very much into boys. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And for the practice."

Kim's eyes lit up, forgetting the shock for a moment. "Ooh, for someone in particular?"

"_No_." Tara said forcefully. Then she looked away embarrassed. "Well, kinda."

"Tell us. Who is it?" Kim pried, now dying of curiosity. It seemed her girl-instincts were stronger than the shock of being found out.

Tara couldn't get a word out. She just stared at the floor, glancing up uncomfortably at Kim, and then down again. This behaviour confirmed Bonnie's fear. She was now sure whom Tara liked.

"You can tell us. It can't be that bad?" Kim prodded.

Bonnie couldn't hold it in anymore. "She likes Ron," she blurted.

"Bonnie!" Tara screamed.

"Ron? Ron who? Reger?"

_I swear, it's like hanging out with special ed kids_, Bonnie thought. "Kim, she likes _Ron_. You know, blond hair, brown eyes, cute freckles, last name Stoppable."

"My Ron?" Kim finally got it.

"Yes! Wait, what? _Your_ Ron?"

"You know what I mean," Kim said and turned to Tara. "Is it true? Do you really like Ron?"

"Yeah," Tara said tentatively.

"That's great!" Kim exclaimed, overjoyed.

"Really? You don't have a problem with it?"

"It's about time. He _really_ needs a girlfriend."

"I'll say," Bonnie said.

Kim gave Bonnie a glare, and turned back to Tara. "Why would I have a problem with it?"

"Because you're super-possessive about him," Bonnie said.

"Am not!"

"You kinda are," Tara chimed in.

"_Et tu_, Tara? Okay, tell me one time I was possessive about him?"

"Well," Bonnie started, "there was that time he got the new haircut-"

"I remember that haircut," Tara said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"-and you looked ready to pummel any girl who came on to him."

"Did not!" Kim denied vehemently. She looked at Tara. "Did I?"

"I was going to ask him out then, but I was too scared of you."

Kim slumped. "I never realized."

"Why _do_ you like the creep so much?" Bonnie asked.

"Other than the fact we've known each other since preschool?"

"Yeah, other than that," Bonnie clarified. "If your tongue wasn't down my throat so much, I'd think that it was down his."

"Bonnie!"

"Oh, come on. You're like one PDA detention away from being a couple."

"Kim," Tara spoke up, "before I knew about you and Bonnie, even I thought you guys might be dating."

Kim opened her mouth for another protest, but closed it again. She suddenly realized something.

"You know, I never really thought about it. There's just always been this bond between us."

"Do you... love him?" Tara asked tentatively.

"Yes," Kim said without thinking. And as she thought about it, she smiled. "Yes, I love him."

"Oh, I see," Tara looked down.

"No, Tara, it's not like that. Yes, I love him deeply, but as a friend- no, that's not right." Kim paused for a few seconds. "It's like... he's a part of me, and I a part of him. It's hard to explain."

Bonnie felt something she had never expected, or felt before: a twinge of jealousy. Not knowing how to handle the strange emotion, she did what she always did: scoffed. "Ain't that precious."

Both Kim and Tara just gave her a disapproving look.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

They ignored her. Tara continued the conversation: "Have you talked to Ron about this?"

"I've tried. But every time I get serious, he makes some stupid joke or suddenly comes up with something he has to go do right now. Come to think of it, the only serious talks we've had about us, were when Ron was jealous of the time I spent with Bonnie."

"He was jealous of _me_?" Bonnie asked, amazed.

"Yes. And I can't really blame him: I had been ignoring him an awful lot. But we've settled all that."

"But he's not like, in love with you, or anything?" Tara asked.

"No. Don't ask me how I know, I just do."

Tara was silent for a moment, looking thoughtful. Then she spoke up. "I wonder if he's a good kisser?"

A mischievous grin grew on Kim's lips. "I bet Bonnie can answer that one."

Tara stared at the livid brunette wide-eyed. "You kissed Ron?"

"No! Well, yes, but I didn't know it was him."

Kim saw Tara was confused, so she filled in the blanks. "One of our arch enemies switched my brain with his. Bonnie thought she was kissing me."

"Oh," Tara said, looking a little lost. It passed quickly. "So, how was he?" she asked with a gleam in her eye.

Bonnie groaned. "Okay, but only if you promise never to speak of it again."

Tara and Kim nodded enthusiastically. "We promise," they spoke in unison.

Bonnie sighed in resignation. "It wasn't _totally_ unpleasant. He was no Kim," and she hung her head, as if in shame, "but he wasn't bad." She looked to Tara, and shook her head as she saw her already in her imagination world, thinking of what it would be like to kiss Kim's goofy sidekick.

With the topic having run its course, the girls decided to watch a cheesy flick. They sat in front of the small TV Tara had in her room, with Kim and Bonnie side-by-side, sharing a bowl of popcorn. Tara had her own.

Half-way into the film, Kim and Bonnie got into an argument about one of the leading ladies' ostensive innocence off-screen.

Tara grinned at their bickering. "You two are so cute!"

"Take that back!" Bonnie demanded, tossing some popcorn Tara's way.

"No, I mean it," Tara said. "You guys are really cute together."

"Well, don't expect it to last very long. This is just temporary," Bonnie said almost instinctively. She cringed inside - she didn't mean to put it so harshly.

Though Tara couldn't tell if Bonnie was serious or not, she couldn't miss the look of hurt in Kim's eyes. She could have asked for clarification from Bonnie, but knowing her, she'd probably come up with more lies, even more hurtful. Tara didn't want to do that to Kim, so she stayed silent.

They resumed watching the movie, but Kim switched to sitting next to Tara. She sat through the movie with a pensive look on her face.

≈O≈

The world appeared in a haze before the awakening Kim. At first she didn't recognize her surroundings. Her instincts kicked in and she went into battle mode. Hyperaware, senses heightened, every muscle tensed, ready for immediate action when called upon.

No such call came. No cackling villains, no whirring deathrays.

"You awake?"

Sudden realization washed over her, and her body relaxed. It all came back: Tara's room, her sleeping on a spare mattress, Bonnie spooning her.

Bonnie, spooning her?

Kim was confused as last night they went to sleep on opposite sides of the room. _And_ Bonnie had told her she didn't have any special feelings for her.

"I'm awake," Kim replied, her voice even, emotionless.

Bonnie picked up on the weird tone. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Don't tell me you're still mad about yesterday?"

"I'm not mad. Just disappointed."

"I thought we had an understanding. We fool around until we get over it."

Kim stayed silent for a moment. "...what if I don't want to get over it?"

Bonnie removed her hand she had wrapped around Kim, and turned on her back. "Your choice. But don't expect me to go along with it."

Kim turned around so she was facing Bonnie's cheek. "Then why are you here - sleeping next to me, I mean? I thought you didn't like to cuddle?"

"I was cold. It's chilly in here," Bonnie said.

Kim didn't believe her.

Bonnie turned to leave. "And now that I'm warm-"

Kim grabbed Bonnie by the waist. "Don't go. Please."

"What do you want from me?" Bonnie asked.

There was so much Kim wanted, or believed she wanted, but at the moment, there was only one thing: "Right now, I just want you to stay next to me."

Ten seconds went by as Bonnie fought herself. Finally she gave in and lay back down on her side, her back to Kim. Kim snuggled up close and re-covered them with the blanket, then wrapped an arm around her.

Kim was painfully aware of how complicated the situation was. Both she and Bonnie seemed to want different things, and she wasn't even sure what she wanted! Not to mention all the secrecy they were forced in. The more she thought about it, the more she believed it all would probably end badly - sooner or later.

But she didn't want to think about it now. She had told Bonnie the truth: at that moment, all she wanted was for her to be there next to her. It felt good, it felt right. She had her here and now, and that was all that mattered.

Kim's yearning for affection guided her actions as she began nuzzling Bonnie's neck. Her nuzzles soon turned to kisses. Supporting herself on her arm, she moved over Bonnie and gently turned the other girl to face her.

"What-" Bonnie began. Kim placed her finger gently on Bonnie's lips. The message was received loud and clear, and Bonnie didn't say another word as Kim continued placing soft kisses around her neck.

Kim's hand slid under Bonnie's shirt as she lay herself flat on top of her.

"What about Tara?" Bonnie managed to whisper in Kim's ear, as Kim was working on hers.

"She's still sleeping," Kim whispered back, taking the earlobe in her mouth right after.

As Kim wiggled and writhed on top of Bonnie, the friction between their most sensitive of parts was driving Bonnie mad. It was just enough to set her loins on fire, but not to build up to an explosion. She grabbed Kim's rear and pulled her tighter against her. It was all the kindling they needed. Soon all else was forgotten in the vigorous engagement of cotton-covered mounds.

Their rapid climb towards climax came to crashing halt at the sound of an exaggeratedly loud yawn coming from the other side of the room.

Kim slid hurriedly off Bonnie, settling next to her, both of them fixing the blanket. Bonnie screamed internally in frustration. She had been so close!

"Good morning, lovebirds," Tara said in a playful tone, peeking over the edge of her bed.

Kim sighed. "Morning, Tara."

As much as she loved her friend, the idea of rolling her in a carpet and dropping her off a bridge sounded all too appealing at the moment.

Thank goodness there was Cheer Camp next week.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	7. Muddy Waters, part 1

A/N: I decided to break the chapter in two, so for once I can update in a reasonable time :). Enjoy!

Thanks to cpneb for the beta.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Muddy Waters, part 1**

≈O≈

With poorly disguised distaste, Mr. Steven Barkin watched the chaos unfold before his very eyes. The undisciplined hustle and bustle of the Cheer Squad loading their things onto the bus tempted Barkin to order all of them to 'drop and give him twenty'. If there was anything more unruly than a group of excited teenaged girls, he wasn't aware of it - and he had seen action during his military service.

He took a deep breath.

"Okay, people," he bellowed, "stop screwing around and listen up!"

Little by little, the chaos died down. For the moment, at least.

"Before we head out, I have an announcement to make," Barkin said, looking, if possible, even more gruff than usual. "The PTA in its _infinite wisdom_," he continued, the sarcasm dripping heavily, "have decided that it's not a good idea for you to be accompanied by a lone male teacher, and are sending a parent with us. Never mind it being a blatant vote of distrust against a devoted educator."

"So, who is it?" Kim asked, ignoring Barkin's outburst.

"What?" Barkin snapped to from his rant. "Oh, right: the parent," he said and as he looked about, he saw the person in question walking up.

"Okay, people, meet your chaperone: Mrs. Renee Williams," Barking introduced as Renee stepped next to him.

"Mom?!" Tara exclaimed in shock.

"Hi, Tarball," the blonde's mother greeted her cheerily. The other cheerleaders snickered at the nickname.

Tara buried her face in her hands. "Kill me now, God, just kill me now," she moaned.

Kim on the other hand, thanked her lucky stars. Apparently, so did Ron, as she had to physically lift his jaw up. She thought she saw some drool as well. She couldn't really blame the guy. Tara's mom looked divine in her white French Terry capris and hoody, with her loose ponytail swaying hypnotically with every movement.

Barkin continued the introduction. "As Mrs. Williams is familiar with basic first aid and treating stress related injuries, you will direct all requests not having to do with lifting something or opening a pickle jar, to her."

Renee cast an amused glance at Barkin. "So," she said, turning back to the students, "like Mr. Porkin here oinked," she joked, getting some stiffled snickers, "I'm available at all hours for anything you might have on your mind."

Kim could think of a few things.

Mr. Barkin looked like his head was about to explode. "Enough chitchat!" he roared. "Everybody in the bus!"

The bus was loaded in ten seconds flat. As it rolled out of the school yard, Ron turned to Kim at the back of the bus where they had settled.

"Man, I didn't remember Tara's mom being so hot."

"I'm right there with you, Ron," Kim agreed, her eyes locked on the Yummy Mommy, who was up ahead, leaning on a seat, making conversation with some of the girls. Of particular interest was her juicy posterior, the lines of her panties shining through the white fabric. "Good God in Heaven," Kim whispered as Renee shifted her weight, her buns bouncing much like two kittens wrestling in a blanket.

"She's so hot," Ron said, reaching for the big foam head of his mascot outfit. He put it on, and continued, "she's making the Mad Dog foam at the mouth!"

Ron howled and shook his head vigorously, sending the banana cream he used for the foam flying everywhere.

"He's doing it again," Bonnie huffed, peering from a farther row, cream dripping down her cheek.

"Ron, amp down," Kim urged. She glanced apologetically back at Bonnie, who was staring murderous daggers at Ron. Kim turned back to Ron. "And take that stupid thing off. This is not the time or place."

"But, KP-"

"Take it off. Now."

Ron gave in, and started taking off the foam head, grumbling. Kim turned to look at Bonnie, and noticed her eyes had taken on a mischievous glint. The creamed brunette glanced around surreptitiously to make sure no one was looking. When her eyes returned to Kim, her finger was sliding across her cheek, gathering up the cream. The finger moved slowly to her mouth, and disappeared between her lips, emerging a moment later, cream-free.

Kim turned to Ron. "Do you happen to have an extra can of that stuff?" she asked with a hidden grin.

Bonnie turned back to Tara, wiping off the rest of the cream.

"What the hell do you see in that dork?"

When Bonnie didn't get the defensive rant she was expecting, she looked at Tara, and saw blonde wearing a very uncharacteristic frown.

"Cheer up, Tar'. It's not the end of the world."

"You're not the one she calls Tarball."

"Okay, that is pretty bad. But everyone seems to like her so far. Hey, at least she's not as bad as my mom."

"Maybe you're right," Tara conceded, but only a little cheerier. "But you know how she gets carried away. Can you imagine if she found out about you and Kim?"

Bonnie shuddered. "I get your point."

≈O≈

Kim turned to Ron. "Don't you think Tara's cute?"

After learning that Tara had a crush on Ron, Kim and Bonnie had agreed to step in and grease the wheels. Even though the idea made Bonnie sick to her stomach, she wanted her friend to be happy, and if it meant setting her up with the buffoon, that was just what Bonnie would do.

"Don't tell me you're already thinking of cheating on Bonnie?" Ron asked.

"What?! No, I just thought you two would make a good couple."

"Get real, KP. A girl like that would never be interested in someone like me."

"How do you know if you don't ask? What's the worst that could happen?"

"Utter humiliation, a broken heart, and an atomic wedgie from the jocks," Ron counted off the points.

"Wedgie!" Rufus chimed in, his face in a sympathy grimace.

_Oy!_ Kim thought. This was going to be tougher than she'd thought.

≈O≈

"Ma'am, a word?" Barkin said.

"Sure, Steve," Renee said, leaning on the hump that lay between the driver's seat and the steps leading out of the bus. "Though I'd prefer if you called me Renee."

"I'm sure you would, Mrs. Williams. And I'd prefer if you didn't try to undermine my authority in front of the students."

"Don't take it so seriously. I was only joking, trying to break the ice."

"Be that as it may, my ability to do my job rests solely on absolute authority. It's not easy with a bunch of rebellious teens, and you're not helping."

"Neither were you with those sexist comments."

Barkin controlled his temper. "Look, Mrs. Williams," he said, gritting his teeth, "I'm just trying to protect myself. It's obvious the PTA doesn't trust me with the girls, so, for the time being, I'm playing their game. Even though I've been on these trips more times than I care to remember, and not once has there been any misconduct or even a hint of an accusation of any. I take my duties _very_ seriously."

Renee smiled at the gruff educator, seeing that he was indeed someone to be trusted, even if stiff as a petrified redwood board.

"You know, Steve, the decision was far from unanimous or orderly. There were a few who felt they couldn't trust the girls with you, but most were, like you, just trying to cover their asses."

"I'm not sure I follow you."

"You remember the incident at the Lowerton High School camping trip a year back?"

"Yeah, big stink. I heard a lot of heads rolled for that one. I'm still not sure what really happened."

"Well, I happen to know someone in the know, and apparently there was some girl who reacted badly to a dream, raised a big fuss, and a lot of people got dragged down. It didn't matter that afterwards everyone was found innocent of any wrongdoing, but the damage was already done. The school almost went bankrupt from all the lawsuits."

"Sounds like the only ones who came out laughing, were the lawyers." Steve rolled his eyes.

"Got that right," Renee nodded. "And that's why they decided to send me with you. It's not about you, it's about them and the school."

"I tell you, the world's going to Hell in a handbasket."

"If it was just me, I wouldn't be that worried, but as a mother... it scares the shit out of me."

Barkin gave her a sharp look. She covered her mouth.

"Nutbunnies. That's another quarter in the swearjar. Looks like Tara's getting a mighty fine graduation present."

"Having problems with your French?"

"Well, I wasn't always a mother. Before I opened the aerobics studio, I worked a forklift in a warehouse as the only woman in a group of men. Picked up some raunchy language. I guess old habits die hard."

Barkin merely grunted in agreement.

The bus hit a pothole, causing Renee to stagger.

"Ma'am, why don't you go find a place to sit, before we need to give _you_ first aid," Barkin suggested.

"We wouldn't want that," Renee replied and started looking around for free seat.

Kim and Ron saw her looking, and raised their hands, both shouting at the same time: "You can sit here, Mrs. Williams!"

As Renee started to make her way across the bus, Kim and Ron started arguing next to whom she'd sit. In the end they split the difference and made room between them on the wide backseat.

"At least _they're_ enjoying my misery," Tara grumbled.

_Maybe a little too much_, Bonnie thought as she watched Kim and Ron trip over themselves trying to impress the older hottie. She turned to her pouting friend, sitting there arms crossed.

"I bet you wouldn't be so grumpy if you had a goofy blonde to smack lips with," Bonnie teased.

"Bonnie!" Tara yelped.

"That reminds me: Tara, you gotta run interference for me and Kim."

"No way! I'm not gonna ruin a perfectly good camping trip just so you guys can play 'L-word'."

"You owe us after that stunt you pulled last week."

"What stunt?"

"You really think I can't recognize a fake yawn?" Bonnie scoffed. "I know you heard us."

Tara blushed bright red. "Only a part of it," she said quietly, staring down.

"And that's why you owe us. You don't have to hang on her all the time, just distract her so me and Kim can sneak off."

Tara sighed. Sometimes she thought she'd be better off not knowing.

≈O≈

A good while into the trip, Ron started showing signs of distress. He kept staring out the windows like a scared animal. Finally, he turned back to Kim and Renee. "This road looks familiar. Too familiar!" he said in an agitated voice that had Kim thinking of the time he thought that Buene Nacho had run out of cheese.

Ron dove over Renee and began rummaging in Kim's bag.

"Do you mind!" Kim protested.

Ron returned to his seat with the Kimmunicator in hand. "Wade, I need a GPS lock on our position!"

Wade looked back at him from the tiny screen. "Okay, calm down, Mad Dog. Locked."

The image that appeared on the screen drove terror into Ron's heart. "That can't be right. That can't be right!" he repeated in disbelief and distress.

Kim was starting to get a little tired of Ron's antics. "Ron!" she yelled.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Renee asked, looking a little worried.

"It's m-m-my worst nightmare. Return to Camp Wannaweep!"

Renee furrowed her brow at Ron, and glanced at Kim. "Does he do this often?"

"All the time," Kim groaned.

"Stoppable, do you have a problem?" Barkin hollered from the front of the bus.

"Drive, drive fast, Mr. Barkin! Drive like my life depends on it!"

"What are you yabberin' about?"

"It was the worst summer of all time!" Ron wailed. "I swore I'd never come back to Camp Wannaweep, never!"

"Ron!" Kim snapped. "We're not going to Wannaweep."

"Why don't I go and ask Steve where we're going?" Renee suggested.

As Renee stood up, loud bangs startled everyone in the bus. The tires of the bus having apparently blown out, the heavy vehicle began to shake and swerve out of control, causing Renee to fall back. Luckily, Ron caught her, and ended up having the older woman sitting in his lap.

"My hero," Renee grinned at Ron.

Ron didn't dare say what was on his mind, but a part of his body was starting to react in a very unhero-like manner.

"No bus wipes out on Steve Barkin's watch!" Barkin declared, and started making aggressive steering corrections. As the bus rocked from side to side, so did the passengers. As tightly as Ron held on to Renee, his grip wasn't fast enough, and the woman slipped from his lap, dropping back-first on the floor. Another swing of the bus threw Kim off her seat and onto the floored Renee.

Barkin finally managed to bring the bus to a safe stop. "Sound off if you're hurtin'!" he yelled.

Despite all the moaning and groaning, everyone seemed to be fine, except for Ron and his ever-present whining. While the other passengers picked themselves up, Kim was frozen in place, forgotten in the blue eyes of Mrs. Renee Williams.

She was so close. So close... and yet, so far.

"You can get off me now," Renee said to the dazed Kim.

"What?" Kim replied, slowly coming out of her trance.

"Kim," Tara said, peering over the seats with a confused frown, "why are you groping my mom?"

Kim looked down and saw her hand had landed on Renee's luscious breast. She jumped up in a flash, her face glowing bright red.

"I was trying to break my fall, it was purely on instinct," Kim explained in rapidfire, while Tara and Bonnie helped Renee up.

Bonnie shook her head sadly. "And she was supposed to keep _us_ from getting harassed."

"I feel so violated," Renee said, quick to get in the swing. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked away, as if ashamed. "Her hands were _everywhere_," she added with a wink to Tara, who had to stifle a giggle.

"No, I-," Kim stammered, before being interrupted by Barkin.

"Okay, people, we seem to have ourselves some flats. We better call for help."

"Saved by the Barkin," Bonnie grinned at Kim before turning to the other girls. "Ladies, cellphones!"

The dozens of fingers clicking away only resulted in a group exclamation: "No service?!"

Even Kim looked worriedly up from her communicator. "That's weird. The Kimmunicator isn't working, either."

Having no other choice, Barkin turned to the most unlikely source for help. "Stoppable, you know the way of the land?"

Ron shriveled in fear. "Every rock, every tree, every bloodthirsty tick. It haunts me."

"Good. Where's the phone?"

Ron shuddered as the memory of pleading for help from his parents surfaced. "I seem to recall a payphone."

"Lead the way," Barkin said.

"Mr. Barkin, I am not... What did you say?"

"I said, lead the way," Barkin reiterated.

Ron suddenly became energized and puffed up his chest. "Yeah! This is it! The one time that Ron Stoppable gets to lead, gets to call the shots, gets to be the big boss man," he declared enthusiastically.

Kim shuddered. They were stranded in the middle of the woods, and the one person they had to rely on to guide them was Ron? This did not bode well...

* * *

_To be continued..._


	8. Muddy Waters, part 2

**Author's Note: **Wow. A lot of time has passed since my last update, and a lot has happened. I lost a good friend (rest in peace, _cpneb_), I flew abroad for the first time in my life and drove through the States meeting friends I've only talked to on the Internet.

I'm sorry for the huge delay. Once I sat down I was able to complete this chapter in a few hours, but don't expect it to happen again. I will make an effort to keep the story going, but I can't make any promises on regular updates. I will do what I can.

In anycase, due to obvious reasons I've had to switch betas. This chapter was beta'd by the lovely and talented _neothesaiyanangel_.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Muddy Waters, part 2**

≈O≈

The group of cheerleaders and their guardians made their way through the dark forest on an old path that was barely visible anymore. Their jittery mascot lead the way, jumping at every sound that managed to penetrate the loud chirping of innumerable crickets.

"This is a place of evil. Stay close and you'll stay alive," Ron said with his usual theatrics.

Kim rolled her eyes for the nth time since they had started following him. As scared as he was of being once again at the birthplace of most his childhood traumas, Ron was getting off on the whole leadership thing - and it was getting on Kim's nerves.

Before the redhead's patience ran too thin they finally found the phone – to her immense relief. Not really expecting much, Kim picked up the receiver.

Nothing.

"Out of order," Kim sighed.

"Place of eeevil," Ron sing-songed in a distinct I-told-you-so tone.

While Kim and Bonnie were mostly annoyed, Ron's fear fanning had the other girls spooked, especially Tara.

"This is just like those movies," the scared blonde said, "Innocent teens stranded at a camp in the middle of nowhere! Then some creepo starts to pick them off. One... by... one."

Tara froze as something touched her back, and began climbing up. She shrieked and jumped in the arms of the nearest person - Ron. Behind them, Bonnie was wriggling her fingers at them, grinning evilly.

"So not the drama, Tara," Kim said, trying not to smile too much at Bonnie's stunt, "this isn't a horror movie."

"Yeah, if it were a horror movie, there'd be more guys," Bonnie said. "And they'd be way cuter than him," she added, waving her hand at Ron.

Ron shook his head. "Oh, Bonnie, you remind me of the cruel kids at camp. Sticks and stones..."

Tara gasped. "They called you names?"

Ron cleared his throat nervously as he noticed Tara was still clutching on his arm. "Ehrm, yes... while hitting me with sticks and stones."

"Aww," Tara cooed, looking up at him with her wide blue eyes, "you poor thing."

Kim smiled. There was no way Ron could resist that. He was as good as gone.

She turned to face the others. "Well, looks like we have to stay for the night. We might as well make the best of it."

"Yes, right," Ron said and yanked his arm free. "Follow me."

Kim's shoulders slumped as she watched Ron start walking away, leaving Tara behind. She glanced at Bonnie who gave her a look that was somehow able to say "I oughta smack him", and "Are you sure he's not gay?" at the same time.

Ron lead the group to a clearing, which in the past had served as a campfire site. The place hadn't yet succumbed to the invading vegetation; in the center there still lay the fireplace circled with rocks, and around it, halved treetrunks serving as seats.

Accustomed to being in charge, Kim tried to take the lead of the camp organization. She never got the chance as Ron immediately continued calling the shots. He and Barkin went to get any remaining firewood from the shed not far away, Kim and Renee being left in charge of cleaning the campsite. They gathered up fir branches to lay on the seats for warmth and to provide clean place to sit.

Although Ron was still putting on the theatrics and was completely full of himself, Kim couldn't help but be amazed at his organizational skills. It was a completely new side to him.

Bonnie seemed to take notice, too.

"Did you guys switch brains again?" she asked Kim. She was leaning on a tree wearing a characteristically wry expression. Though she outwardly seemed disinterested in the activity, she was actually enjoying the view of Kim hustling about and bending over.

"I don't think so," Kim replied slowly as she walked past.

The other girls were just anxious to get a warm place to sit. They did not seem to pay Ron any attention, but Tara was positively entranced by him. Her not-so-furtive glances and looks at the other blonde's direction did not go unnoticed.

Renee walked up to Bonnie, her arms full of fir. "BonBon, am I seeing things, or is my little Tarball making eyes at the mascot?"

"Ren," Bonnie sighed, "you don't know the half of it."

"What do you know, my little girl's having a crush," Renee smiled.

"Sad, isn't it?"

"Why? He's no football player, but he seems nice. And the way he took charge... If he were just a few years older..."

"Ewww," Bonnie exclaimed. "You're just as messed up as she is. It's gotta be genetic."

"Oh, you're just bitter because you don't have anyone to swap spit with," Renee teased.

"I do too," Bonnie shot back, immediately regretting it.

Renee grew a truly evil cheshire grin. "Really? Do tell."

"Forget it."

"I have ways of making you talk."

"Oh, look," Bonnie said, pointing towards the welcome diversion, "the guys are back."

Barkin and Ron emerged from the woods, their arms full of firewood. When Renee turned back around, Bonnie was gone.

Barkin took to building the fire as the others began populating the seats. Already seated, Bonnie looked as Renee glanced at her giving her a mischievous wink. Before Bonnie realized what it was about, Renee walked into her daughter just as she was passing Ron who was already sitting on the treetrunk. Tara staggered, and fell into the surprised boy's lap. Tara began to slip off, causing both her and Ron to instinctively grab hold of each other. The two could only stare at each other wide-eyed.

"The ladies just keep falling in your lap," Renee remarked, followed by snickers from the other cheerleaders.

The two teens glowed so red they could have lit Santa Claus' way on Christmas Eve. Ron started tugging at his collar as Tara slid off him. She didn't go far; timidly she took a seat next to him. They kept giving each other embarrassed glances.

Kim and Bonnie couldn't believe their eyes. _She's good_, they both thought.

Soon, a fire was built and everyone gathered around to get warm. Much to everyone's chagrin, Ron continued with his horror stories from his days at Camp Wannaweep.

Not even listening to Ron's spiel, Kim and Bonnie shared a knowing, and anxious, glance.

Kim stood up. "I'm gonna go to the little girls' cabin."

"KP," Ron called after her, "Camp Wannaweep rule number one: use the Buddy

System."

"Ron, I don't need-"

Bonnie let out an exaggerated sigh. "I'll go. Anything's better than listening to the _Loserbury Tales_ all night."

Barkin gave Kim a sharp look. "Watch those hands, Possible," he said without a hint of humor.

The other girls snickered as Kim got all flustered. "I wasn't-," she began, before throwing her hands in the air, letting out a loud, frustrated groan. She turned on her heels and stormed off.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, and followed Kim into the woods. She found the redhead waiting for her not too far away, leaning on a tree, arms crossed.

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" she asked sullenly.

"Nope," Bonnie said simply and walked right up to Kim, and leaned on the tree with one hand, bringing her face to face with other girl. "Now, why don't you live up to your rep," she grinned, and leaned in for a kiss.

"I have a rep?" Kim asked after a gentle starter kiss. "Does it come with cred?"

"Well, you are seeing the hottest girl in school. That's like instant über-cred right there."

Their kiss was interrupted by Ron's shriek: "Mr. Barkin, I swear I heard banjos!"

Bonnie groaned. "Come on, let's see if we can find the cabins. He's giving me a headache."

The girls waded through the woods until they came to the old dilapidated cabins. They picked one that didn't look like being on the verge of collapse.

Bonnie's loathing gaze scanned the decrepit interior. "It's so not the Ritz," she glanced at Kim. The redhead looked at her seductively, sitting legs crossed on a dirty bunk, her riding up skirt revealing generous amounts of leg. Bonnie's sneer turned into a lascivious grin. "But it'll do."

Back at the campfire, Ron was getting anxious - well, more so.

"What keeping KP? She doesn't usually take this long," Ron said, making the girls snicker at his curiously extensive knowledge of his friend's bathroom habits.

"Stoppable, stop being weird," Barkin said and turned to the only other adult. "Mrs. Williams, why don't you go see what's keeping them."

"Yay, tinkle duty," Renee said dryly, but got up.

Marcella and Liz had to go, so they tagged along.

They arrived at the restrooms, better described as outhouses, and there was no sign of Kim and Bonnie.

"Don't wander off, I'm gonna go and look around," Renee said. Having a decent sense of direction she didn't hesitate too much about stepping off the beaten path into the forest.

Renee wandered around the forest calling out for Kim and Bonnie. After a few minutes, she came upon a clearing with numbered shacks in various states of disrepair. She was about to call out again, when she heard silent creaking from a nearby shack.

"Girls, you in here?" Renee said as she entered the shack. Then she saw the two girls tongue-deep in each other. "I know we're short on guys, but jeez, Louise," she said, unfazed.

Kim and Bonnie practically jumped out of their skins.

"Ren!" Bonnie exclaimed. Kim was in such a shock she couldn't get a word out.

"BonBon, you've been holding out on me," Renee said with an amused smirk.

"No, we were just-," Kim struggled for an explanation.

Before Bonnie was able to let out a derisive comment about the jig being up, they heard a scream.

"Seriously, that boy really needs to relax," Renee said. She turned back to the girls. "Okay, let's get going. Bonnie," she glanced at the girl, "we'll talk later."

With that she headed back towards the latrines to check up on Liz and Marcella.

Kim turned to Bonnie: "She's not going to tell on us, is she?"

"I know Renee. She's not going to spill, but you better be prepared. She's definitely going to have some fun at our expense."

"Should I be worried?"

"Very."

Kim's shoulders slumped, and the two girls started trodding towards the camp. The whole time Kim spent beating herself up about her involvement with Bonnie. She had tried to be so careful and fight all the misgivings and doubts she had had about them, and now it suddenly seemed all the more complicated. All she could do is to trust Bonnie's judgment and hope Renee would not blow the whistle on them.

When they got to the camp, Renee was already there.

"Did you guys see Liz and Marcella?" she asked.

"No," Bonnie replied.

Kim took a look around. "Uhh, where's Mr. Barkin?"

"He went to look for some more firewood, and we haven't seen him since," Hope, one of the cheerleaders, said.

The sound of Ron's shriek caused everyone to turn and look at him. He was shaking even more than usual and pointing at the ground where Rufus was chattering agitatedly, also pointing down at something.

"That is not a human footprint!" Ron screamed.

And indeed, on the ground was a footprint that did not belong to a human being. It looked like it was left by something with webbed feet. And Kim sure didn't know of an animal that big with webbed feet.

"Okay, I'm getting a little freaked here," Kim said.

"Looks like there's only one place we can go," Ron said darkly.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"_Cabin 13_."

≈O≈

It was getting dark outside, and the only light in the cabin was provided by an old lantern they had found.

Ron paced back and forth in the middle of the cabin, looking important. The cheerleaders huddled on the floor around the cabin. Renee peered out the window.

"In this very cabin I was able to survive every evil Camp Wannaweep could throw at me," Ron told them. He shuddered visibly as he flashed back to the horrors he had endured.

Renee turned away from the window and approached the group. "Well, there doesn't seem to be any movement outside."

A distant wail carried from the woods. Everyone tensed as it came closer.

The wail soon became clear. "Possible!" someone kept shouting.

Kim cautiously stepped out the door, looking around for the source of the voice. With Ron in tow she walked in the woods following the sound. Finally she spotted movement, and out of the woods burst Barkin. Still yelling Kim's name, he ran up to Kim and Ron. Barkin's whole midsection was covered in some kind of slime that bound his arms to his body.

"It's, it's dripping and oozing muck," Barkin said, his face contorting in disgust.

"Mr. B, what exactly is it?" Ron asked.

"Freakish. It's, it's... makes me ill to visualize it."

"Oh, come on," Kim waved her hand dismissively, "I'm sure I've faced worse." She was already heading out to face the, whatever it was, but then took a step back. "Did you say oozing muck?"

Kim wasn't a big fan of anything oozing.

Suddenly there was a big crashing sound and they could hear the other cheerleaders screaming.

"And it's back there!" Ron exclaimed.

They took off running. As they reached cabin 13, it looked like it was about to burst. One of the walls flew out, breaking up into pieces, as a wave of green slime shot out of the cabin. A stray blob of the stuff got Barkin, sticking him onto a tree. The walls left standing held their fellow cheerleaders, glued in place with the very same green slime. Some had been bound to the bedposts.

In the middle of the cabin, panting heavily, stood a foul creature, green and oozing muck, just as Barkin had described it. He turned around, revealing his face to the moonlight. It was more amphibian than man.

"It's the Mexican Staring Frog from Southern Sri Lanka!" Ron screamed in terror.

"Watch it, Squeeb!" the creature replied as it turned to look at Ron. "Remember me?" it asked.

Ron squirmed, trying to avoid direct eye contact with the creature. "Not really. I think I'd remember."

"Oh, come on, Ronnie, think," the creature said and walked towards Ron. "We switched places. You took my arts and crafts, I took your swim time."

Slowly it dawned on Ron. "Gil?"

"Oh, I am no longer Gil, now I am Gill."

"Er, what's the difference?"

"I added an 'L'. You know, as in gill, as in these things that grew when I mutated," Gill said, flapping the slimy protrusions. He then inhaled - and vomited muck, nailing Kim to a tree.

"KP!"

"Step away, Ronnie," Gill said, stepping between Ron and Kim. "So, Ron, did you ever hear why they shut down the camp?"

"Er, no."

"It turns out - oh, you're gonna love this! - the lake had been polluted by runoff from the science camp."

"See, I thought the lake was funky. I'm glad I never went in. You, on the other hand, you practically lived in that water."

"While you made wallets."

"And lanyards. I ruled at lanyards."

"Look," Kim interjected, "we know plenty of scientists, maybe someone can cure you."

"Science! Science made me like this."

"So you used the equipment from telecommunications camp to jam our coms, and arranged the bus blowout, just so you can-"

"Take my revenge on Ron Stoppable!"

"A part of me is terrified, and yet a part of me is flattered."

"Did I mention that contact with the muck will turn you into a mutant? Just like me."

Barkin struggled against the muck. "This is sick and wrong!"

Bonnie moaned. "There is no way they're going to let a squad of mutant cheerleaders in the competition!"

"There is no competition! Don't you get it? It was all a trap," Gill raved. He turned towards Ron. "And guess what, Ronnie: you're next."

Gill made a move towards Ron. Ron ran past him and into the cabin, where he picked up a shaggy rug from the floor to reveal a trap door. He opened it and dove in, shutting it behind him and narrowly avoiding a volley of muck blasts.

"He is ditching us!" Bonnie yelled.

Even Tara looked at the trap door in disbelief. "That ditcher!"

"Ron does not ditch," Kim protested.

Gill ran to the trap door and crashed through without bothering to open it.

Bonnie struggled against her repulsive restraints.

"I sure hope Ron saves us soon. Green is not my color," Renee said. She had been stuck next to Bonnie on the same bedpost.

"That little weasel's probably miles away by now," Bonnie spat.

"Give the guy the benefit of the doubt. He knows this place inside and out. I'd bet my booty he's going to come back and save us," Renee said.

"Then you'd better kiss your booty goodbye," Bonnie said bitterly.

Renee sighed and looked over shoulder. "You okay over there, Sweetie?"

"I'm fine. But I so don't want to turn into a gross snot monster," Tara grumbled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Ron will come back and save us."

There were a number of dissenting voices around the cabin.

Renee looked over at Kim. "Kim, can you do anything?"

"If I could reach my pocket I could cut myself free with my laser lipstick, but I'm wrapped up too tight."

"Cheerleading uniforms have pockets?" Renee asked, baffled.

"Mine does," Kim replied. "Just for the basic tools."

"Shh!" Barkin commanded.

Everyone quieted down. There was a faint sound of an outboard motor.

"Great! Ron found a boat," Kim cheered.

"Yeah, so he can ditch us," Bonnie said sourly.

"I already told you, he does not ditch."

"So, where's he going?"

"Uh..."

The fact that Kim couldn't come up with an answer, made the cabin go quiet.

Bonnie looked over at Kim, just visible outside the cabin. The redhead was struggling to get free, but to no avail. It seemed like she, as well as the rest of them, was destined to be turned into a mutated freak. Or be killed by one.

Just then, an inkling of an emotion tugged at her.

Fear.

Not the fear for her own life, but fear of losing things - people - important to her. She could die right here without having the chance to talk to her dad. Or they could all be turned into icky mutants, maybe end up locked up, studied, probed, and dissected. And she could lose K-

The thought shook her to her very core. She was in mortal danger and she was worried about Kim? It had to be the muck. Yeah, definitely the muck.

"Worried about Kim?" Renee asked with a lowered voice.

"What? Why would I-" Bonnie protested before noticing the knowing eyebrow-raise Renee was giving her. She lowered her head.

"It's okay to worry about people. Especially about ones you're involved with."

Bonnie was too tired to protest Renee's choice of words. Besides, she'd always been able to confide in her.

"It's not just her," Bonnie said.

Renee looked at Bonnie expectantly as she let the sentence hang in the air.

"I found out my dad's phone number."

"How long-"

"A couple weeks."

"Have you called him yet?"

"No," Bonnie sighed. "Every night I put in the number, but I never have the guts to make the call."

"Are you sure it's what you really want?"

"Yes! This can't be my life. With my bitch sisters and weirdo mom, this just can't be it. I need to know there's one person who loves me."

Renee thought about mentioning a certain redhead but knew this wasn't the time.

"BonBon, you know I'll always love you as if you were my own daughter. I know it's not the same, but-"

"I didn't mean-"

"I know, I know," Renee calmed her down. She saw Bonnie was on the verge of tears and knew how she valued her image. "Take a deep breath and think positive. We _will_ get out of this, and you _will_ be able to call your dad."

Bonnie gave the older woman a thankful smile and did as instructed; she took a deep breath.

Just then she heard Kim yell: "Ron!"

Shortly after they both ran in the cabin and started freeing people. Kim's first target was Bonnie.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked as Kim pulled out her laser lipstick and started cutting her free.

"Ron caught Gill in a net," she said, and smiled at Bonnie. "He saved us."

Just as Kim turned to Renee, Bonnie put a hand on her shoulder. "Kim."

Kim looked at Bonnie. She said nothing, but she didn't have to. Kim saw everything she needed in Bonnie's eyes - the worry, the relief. The love. She smiled back and turned to Renee.

≈O≈

After an exhaustive search, Kim and Ron had been able to find the jamming device Gill had used to block off their cell phone signals, allowing them to finally call in the authorities.

Gill was detained and placed into custody of a genetic researcher, who assured them that even though Gill was perhaps too far along to be cured, any effects the muck might have had on them would be reversed as long as they were properly cleansed of the substance.

Ron basked in the gratefulness of the cheerleaders. He was showered with thank yous and praise. Tara went even as far as daring a kiss on his cheek.

Bonnie watched as Ron held his hand on his cheek, looking longingly after the blonde. She couldn't take any more. Life was too short for them to keep doing this dance.

Bonnie walked up to Ron and snapped at him: "Okay, that's it. You go after her and kiss her right now!"

"Uhh, why?" Ron hesitated.

Bonnie groaned. "Because she wants you to, you dolt!"

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm her best friend, that's how. Now go!"

Bonnie pushed Ron on his way. He walked slowly and hesitantly towards Tara, who was standing just a few feet from the main group of cheerleaders.

"Uhh, hi Tara," he said timidly.

"Hi, Ron," Tara said, smiled coyly.

"Umm.. Bonnie had this crazy idea that.. uhh, you wanted to kiss me."

"She did, huh?"

"Yeah, crazy right? I mean look at me, who'd want to kiss me?"

"I would."

They kept staring at each other, until Ron managed to gather some courage and spoke up. "Maybe we could, uh, go on a date?"

"I'd love to. When?"

"Uh, can I call you later about the details?"

"Sure."

"Well, uh, be seeing you."

"You too."

Ron turned and walked off, his knees so weak he could barely stay upright.

"That was so sad," Bonnie derided.

"I don't think I have any feeling in my legs," Ron said, not noting the jab at him.

"Way to go, Ron," Kim cheered. She turned to Bonnie. "Uh, do you want to get together tonight?"

"I'll have to give you a rain check. I have something I need to do."

≈O≈

In her room, Bonnie entered the number in her phone, the process already a nightly ritual. This time, however, she pushed "Call".

A few rings later there was an answer.

Bonnie gripped the phone tighter. She choked out the word.

"Daddy?"

* * *

_TBC..._

Be sure to read my sidefic, "Renee". It does have slight spoilers, but nothing to do with the main storyline._  
_


	9. Save The Last Dance

**Chapter 9: Save The Last Dance**

≈O≈

That day the school witnessed something much stranger and unnerving than a stampede of DNAmy's real-life Cuddle Buddies.

A happy Bonnie Rockwaller.

The girl wasn't singing on hilltops – which would have been the equivalent to a zombie apocalypse - but instead of her usual sneer or smirk, she was actually smiling; a feat some considered the cheerleader incapable of. The slight bounce in her step was also note-worthy.

"Kim, you are not going to believe this," Ron said, the look on his face reflecting the disbelief shared by his many peers.

"What?" Kim asked, her attention focused on her locker.

"Look," he said and pointed towards Bonnie.

Kim turned her head and saw the brunette walking towards her. Smiling. As she walked past, Kim suddenly jumped and yelped. Bonnie gave her a wink and continued on.

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"She pinched me!" Kim complained, rubbing her rear. "She actually pinched my butt."

"That seems so," Ron said, trying to come up with a suitable word, "un-Bonnielike."

"No _duh_. What is up with her?"

Kim couldn't make heads or tails of Bonnie's behavior. She had gotten used to the girl's sudden changes of heart, but this was something very different.

It bugged Kim. For a number of reasons.

For one, she had been trying to get Bonnie to share what was going on in her head, this being yet another thing Kim was not privy to. One thing she had learned, however, that she couldn't attack it head-on like she did with everything else. Bonnie, she had learned, was very shielded about her feelings and any attempt to force an answer would only lead to her shutting Kim out.

She had to wait for the right time.

Kim patiently waited until cheer practice after school. The practice itself went smoothly, due to the fact that Kim didn't have to fight Bonnie on every decision. Afterwards, Kim and Bonnie hung back until everyone else had gone to the locker room.

Like a moray eel on the prey, Bonnie snatched Kim and pulled her into the equipment storeroom.

"Hey, good-looking," Bonnie smiled, her hands firmly planted on Kim's rear.

"You're in a good mood," Kim said, holding Bonnie by the shoulders.

"I am, so why don't you put me in an even better one?" Bonnie said and captured the redhead's lips with her own, initiating yet another storeroom session.

Instead of her usual relentless attack, Bonnie's kissing was soft and slow. It was tender even. Her commonly busy hands settled on feeling Kim's backside.

After some wandering, searching for a more comfortable spot, they ended up on a gurney, the former occupant of which, CPR Annie, now lay on the floor in a very uncomfortable position. The girls however were very comfortable, with Kim on her back and Bonnie partially on top of her.

Bonnie pulled apart slowly, brushing away a lock of red hair off Kim's face. Kim smiled at the unusual, but welcome, view of a smiling Bonnie. Her teal eyes seemed so mesmerizing, adorned with an almost perceptible sparkle.

Although unwilling to interrupt the lovely time they were having, Kim knew she'd be amiss if she didn't point out the obvious.

"The others are probably wondering where we are," she said, her finger slowly drawing figures on Bonnie's exposed rear, her skirt having been lifted up previously.

"Let them wonder," Bonnie replied, leaning in to kiss Kim's neck.

"Does this have anything to do with what happened at the camp?" Kim asked.

"Does what?" Bonnie asked, still planting soft kisses along the redhead's delicate neckline.

"This weird mood you're in."

Bonnie pulled back to look Kim in the eye. "How am I being weird?"

"You seem almost... happy."

With her finger, Bonnie brushed away a stray lock of hair from Kim's forehead. "And that's weird?"

"It is for you. And there was the way you looked at me after Ron captured Gill and freed us. You looked so..."

"So what?"

"Like you were happy nothing happened to me."

"Fine, I'm happy you didn't die. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"That'll do. For now."

"You're a needy little minx, Possible."

"And you're a mean little witch, Rockwaller."

"Let me put my spell on you," Bonnie said and captured Kim's lips in a passionate kiss.

"Dammit," Bonnie said, her lips still attached to Kim's. She pulled apart. "I really hate to cut this short, but I gotta head over to Tara's."

"You two have plans?"

"I promised Ren I'd come over for a chat," Bonnie said, sitting up on the gurney. "I figure I'd do some damage control while I'm at it."

Kim had noted Bonnie using nick names with Tara's mom, and vice versa, and the rapport they seemed to share. "You two seem close."

"Yeah, well. She's the only adult I could talk to since my dad left," Bonnie said and stood up. She went to the door leaving Kim reeling from the surprising personal revelation. "Let's hit the showers."

≈O≈

"Have a seat," Renee patted the empty space next to her on the couch in the Williams' living room.

Bonnie walked across the room looking around. "Where's Tara?" she asked as she sat down on the couch.

"She's up in her room. I asked her to give us a little privacy."

"Listen, about what you saw-"

"We'll get to that," Renee interjected. "Tara told me you've been in a pretty good mood today."

Bonnie gave an exasperated sigh. "What am I, some goth chick? I can't be happy?"

"BonBon, you know I love you, but you aren't the most cheerful person. You smirk a lot, but I've rarely seen you with a genuine smile."

Bonnie stayed silent as if in deep thought.

"Hon-"

"I called my dad," Bonnie said suddenly.

The sentence hung in the air a few moments as Renee took it in.

Renee Williams was aware of the circumstances that caused Bonnie's father to leave, or at least she knew the gist. It had been very difficult, being as close as she was with Bonnie, to respect the Rockwallers' right to handle their own issues. As much as it pained her, all Renee could do was tell Bonnie that there must have been a good reason for her dad's leaving and not contacting her.

There was very little she wanted more than to be right.

Now she, and more importantly Bonnie, had the opportunity to find out. "And?" she asked anxiously.

≈O≈

"Hello?" came a sleepy voice.

After three years Bonnie had finally reached her dad. For the first time since he had left she experienced a moment of true joy. She was also scared her to her very core.

She gripped the phone tighter.

"Is there someone there?"

It was now or never.

"Daddy?" she managed to choke out.

There was a brief silence. A pregnant pause that threatened to dissolve the desperate girl's resolve.

"Bonnie?" the voice said cautiously.

The sound of her name in a voice she had feared never to hear again awakened the little girl within.

"It's me, Daddy."

"Bonnie, I- How'd you get this number?"

"I bullied a nerd into finding it for me."

"I see."

"Yeah."

"So... how have you been?"

Bonnie had not known what to expect from the call. Nor had she sorted out what she really wanted out of it. But now that she actually had her father's ear, she wanted some answers. "I haven't heard from you in three years, and you wanna know how I've been?"

"BonBon-"

"Don't BonBon me! Why'd you leave? Why'd you leave _me_? And why haven't you called?" The angry questions poured out of her.

"Bonnie... You have no idea how much I've missed you guys. I really did want to call but..."

"But what?"

"It's really hard to explain over the phone. I'm actually coming over to Colorado in a couple weeks. Do you think you can meet me in Upperton on the fourteenth?"

"I think so..."

"Do you know where the Triton Arms is?"

"No, but I can find out."

"How about we meet in the downstairs bar at five."

"Okay," Bonnie said, writing down the info.

"And Bonnie – I really did miss you an awful lot. I can't tell you how happy I am that you called."

"I've missed you too, Daddy," Bonnie sniffled.

"Listen, Sweetie, I have to go now, but I'll see you in two weeks, okay?"

"Daddy..."

"BonBon, I promise I'll explain everything."

"You better."

"I will." The voice cracked a little, "I love you, BonBon."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

≈O≈

"I'm so happy for you," Renee said and hugged Bonnie tightly. "Do you need me to come along for moral support? I can also pound Brian to a bloody pulp if he doesn't have a good explanation."

"Thanks, but I think I need to do this by myself."

"Okay. But you should know there's nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it."

"I know, but it's hard."

"I know it is, sweetie."

Renee knew enough of Bonnie's family life to know why the girl never asked for help. It would show weakness; something Bonnie couldn't afford if she were to gain the respect and/or approval of her sisters. Renee just hoped that when Bonnie finally connected with her father she'd stop living for other people, and start living for herself.

"What about your sisters?"

"What about them?"

"Have you told them?"

"No, and I'm not going to."

"Bonnie," Renee said in a motherly tone, "I know you don't get along-"

"I hate them."

"Nevertheless, they still have a right to know. He's their dad, too."

"Fine. I'll tell them. _After_ I meet him alone."

"It's the right thing to do. Now that we're done with that, let's talk about your girlfriend."

Bonnie groaned. "Do you really need to call her that?"

"You two are seeing each other? Or at least making out on a regular basis? Then she's your girlfriend."

"You're the devil."

"And I'm hot as hell."

"Kim sure seems to think so."

"Don't tell me you're jealous?"

"Annoyed is what I am."

"You're jealous."

"Of a cradle-robbing cougar? Hardly."

Renee growled and made a claw gesture towards Bonnie. "So, are you two getting serious?" she asked.

"We're just fooling around," Bonnie replied non-chalantly.

"Fooling around?"

"Yeah, so?"

Renee sighed. "Why are the pretty ones always so dumb?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hand me that magazine, will you?" Renee asked Bonnie, pointing to a car magazine lying on the table.

Bonnie glanced at the magazine, the front cover showing some augmented babe in a bikini leaning on a shiny red penis on wheels. She gave the older woman a confused frown but grabbed the magazine and gave it to her. "I didn't know you were into-"

_SMACK!_

"Ow! What the hell!" Bonnie complained rubbing her sore cheek.

Renee was holding the rolled up magazine, giving Bonnie a scolding look. "Have you been struck deaf, dumb, and blind?" she asked loudly.

"What?" Bonnie groused.

"Can't you see the poor girl's hopelessly in love with you?"

Bonnie 'pfft'ed. "Yeah right."

"She kinda is."

Both Bonnie and Renee looked towards the voice to see Tara standing in the doorway.

"You, too?" Bonnie said.

Tara stood in the doorway holding a sandwich and a glass of water. She walked into the room and sat on the armrest of a recliner. "I know you can see it. She's trying to fight it, but Kim's totally into you."

"See?" Renee said to Bonnie. "Even Tarball knows."

"Hey!"

"The question is: how do you feel about it?"

Bonnie fell silent. How _did_ she feel? She had been trying so hard to ignore all that and keep it light and fun. She could not deny the physical attraction that drew her to the red-haired goody-goody time and time again. Kim did it to her, simple as that. After that first kiss, every time they were in the same room Bonnie could not help but feel the draw.

But affection? Love?

If it wasn't for what happened last week at the camp, she would have dismissed the idea off-hand. Now?

Now...

"Bonnie?"

"I just don't know. I guess I care about her."

"That's a start," Renee said. "And don't feel bad about the whole liking girls thing. I had myself a little experiment with the fairer sex back in College."

"Mom, you didn't?" Tara said in shock.

"Go, Ren," Bonnie grinned.

"Wait, I thought you didn't go to College," Tara said.

"I didn't but she did. I just crashed a party she was in."

"You crashed a college party?" Bonnie asked with renewed respect.

"Well, 'party' is putting it strongly. Those pre-med people are boring," Renee said. A warm smile grew on her face. "All but my Annie."

"So what happened?" Bonnie asked impatiently.

"From the first moment I saw her I knew I had to talk to her. I just had to."

"And?"

"Well, we hit it off and ended up going to her room. That was some night..."

"Eww, mom! I don't wanna hear that," Tara said, scrunching up her face.

"Hear what? About the night of passionate lovemaking?" Renee taunted with a mischievous grin.

Tara covered her ears and started going "La-la-la, I'm not listening."

"I think you better move on before Tar has a nervous breakdown," Bonnie smiled.

"Okay, okay. Anyway, we saw each other a few times after that. We kept it simple, I never even knew her last name. But I loved her. I loved everything about her."

"So why did you stop seeing her?" Tara asked. She had started listening again and was actually leaning forward like had taken an interest on the story.

"I met your father."

Tara seemed placated by the answer, but Bonnie needed more.

"What did she look like?" the girl asked.

Renee sunk in the couch and grew a dreamy smile. "She was so beautiful. She had striking red hair that was ever so flippy, and lovely blue eyes. Actually she kinda looked like-"

Suddenly something clicked in Renee's head.

_No, it couldn't be..._

_It's not possible..._

The realization hit her like a hammer.

Bonnie's girlfriend was the spitting image of Annie!

_Annie._

"Mom?"

Renee snapped out of her thoughts. She tried to recompose herself as best as she could.

"Sorry. Uh, so anyway, Bonnie, do you think there's any chance of your 'fooling around' with Kim to become something more... serious?"

Bonnie sighed heavily. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Then go for it. One of the worst things in life is regret. You don't want to go through the rest of your life thinking 'what if?'. Even if things don't work out, you'd have tried. You're still young. I don't want to play devil's advocate here, but odds are that even if you guys start dating, you're not gonna live happily ever after. There is no one true love, and the only way you'll find any is by putting yourself out there. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have met Annie. Or Harvey."

Tara looked at her mom, cautiously hopeful. "Do you love dad more than Annie?"

Renee stood up. She walked to the recliner and kneeled, cupping Tara's cheeks.

"Honey. I can't quantify love. I loved Annie. I loved her a lot. And I love your father a lot. He also gave me you. And I love you more than life itself."

As the mother and daughter locked in a loving embrace, Bonnie's natural instinct was to gag at the saccharine display. Yet, she could not help but envy them. She barely remembered the last time she had felt that loved. The only thing that came even close was-

"Bloody hell..."

"Sorry?"

And there she was again. Seemed like no matter how she approached the situation, it always came back to the redhead. Despite her ability to deceive everyone around her, including herself, Bonnie could no longer deny that her involvement with Kim was more than a fling. Whatever that was, Bonnie lacked the capacity to define or understand.

"Bonnie," Renee tried to get the preoccupied brunette's attention.

Bonnie stood up. "I have to go," she said, barely acknowledging the other two women as she walked off. She left the Williams' feeling slightly more confused than when she came in.

≈O≈

Following her realization, Renee could not get Annie off her mind. The only thing she could think of was to get confirmation. And that meant getting some one-on-one time with Mrs. Possible.

When Mr. Williams came home, Renee suggested they invite the Possibles over for dinner.

"Sure, why not", Mr. Williams said, actually eager to meet the parents of the famous teen heroine. "What gave you the idea?"

"I just thought since they're one of the only parents we haven't met yet, no time like the present."

"Okay. When were you-"

"Next Friday. When the kids are at the dance."

"Friday? But that was supposed to be our... 'special' time."

"I'll make it up to you, Honey."

"It's gonna take an awful lot to-"

"I'll wear that costume you've been going on about. What's her name, Teela?"

"Tifa," Harvey corrected. "With the tight leather skirt and suspenders?"

Renee put her arms on Harvey's shoulders, clasping her hands together behind his neck. "I'll even put on the hair wrap."

"Okay, let's have dinner."

≈O≈

On their way from class Ron kept smiling at the posters advertising the upcoming school dance. It was the first time he had an actual date to the dance. And since it was Sadie Hawkins, Tara had asked _him_! He could barely contain his exuberance.

"So, have you decided who to ask to the dance?" Ron asked as they arrived at their lockers.

Kim gave him a frustrated sideways glance.

"You know perfectly well the one person I wanna ask is not an option."

"Couldn't hurt to try."

"I think I'm just gonna skip the dance."

"KP, you gotta come!"

"Why? It's not like you need someone to go with, you have Tara."

"I've never been to a dance with a girl, I need moral support."

"You've been with me plenty of times. Are you saying I'm not a girl?"

"Yes! I mean no! I mean-," Ron took a calming breath. "You're KP, you know?"

While Kim enjoyed having Ron squirm, she did know what he meant.

"Relax, Ron. I got you."

Ron let out a sigh of relief. "Come on, KP, you gotta help me."

Kim really didn't want to spend a night standing in a corner like a fool, but she couldn't back out from helping her best friend.

"Fine, I'll go."

_The things I do for him... No wonder people thought we were dating_, Kim thought.

* * *

to be continued...


	10. Flood On The Dance Floor

**Author's Note:** A big thanks to _Kgs-wy_ for beta reading this chapter. As always, sorry for taking so long updating.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Flood On The Dance Floor**

≈O≈

The bell rang with the effect of a starting pistol, a signal for the class to clear out like they were going for Olympic gold.

The only people left behind were Kim and Bonnie.

"So, Bonnie, are you going to the dance?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, I'm going with Brick," she replied.

"Brick?" Kim asked, aghast.

"You can't expect someone of my status to go stag?"

Kim didn't really know what she expected. She knew they wouldn't be going together, but she couldn't help but feel a little... disappointed? Jealous?

"Look, Kim," Bonnie said in a surprisingly understanding tone. She glanced over at the teacher's desk where Ms. Graph was still gathering up her supplies. As the teacher was focused on her task, Bonnie dared a gentle hold on Kim's shoulder. "I'm only going with Brick to keep up appearances. We can still hook up afterwards. Okay?"

"Okay," Kim replied, disheartened. She sighed. "I'd probably skip the dance but I promised Ron I'd be there."

"Isn't he going with Tara?"

"Yeah, but he was worried he might mess it up so I'll be there to hold his hand."

"Don't hold on too tight," Bonnie grinned. "Tara just might bite yours off at the wrist."

Kim smiled. "I'll be careful."

Bonnie cupped Kim's cheek. "I'll see you tonight, okay?" she said.

"O-" Kim was able to say before Bonnie kissed her on the lips.

"Later," the brunette said as she walked out, leaving Kim standing there. As Kim turned around, she noticed Ms. Graph staring at her.

"We're really good friends," Kim said.

"A-ha," the teacher drawled dubiously.

Kim walked out redder than Utah.

≈O≈

The day of the dance had finally arrived. By some small miracle Ron had made it without falling apart. In the end, seeing Tara every day in school had taken some of the edge off of taking the popular cheerleader to a dance.

Now, Ron was sitting on Kim's bed in her room. Kim had put up a privacy screen while she got dressed and prettied up.

While some might have found a boy and a girl preparing for a dance together when they weren't going with each other and not even related odd, with these two no one thought anything of it. Dating or no, the two were joined at the hip, and anyone wanting to date either of them had to accept that. So far Tara hadn't given Ron any indication of having a problem with his relationship with Kim. Sometimes he still worried.

"Are you still nervous about the dance?" Kim asked.

"Most definitely. I feel better knowing you'll be there, though."

"Ron, all you have to do is relax and be yourself. Tara likes you. You don't have to impress her, you already have. Just have a good time."

"It's easier said than-"

Kim stepped out from behind the screen, and Ron's mouth just stopped. So used to seeing Kim in everyday clothes and mission gear, usually with messy hair and dirt on her face, Ron was struck by how beautiful she was cleaned up and in a dress.

"How do I look?"

Ron had trouble forming words. Rufus let out a wolf whistle.

"Wow. You're... You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Kim blushed. "You're just saying that."

"No. You're gorgeous."

Kim glowed and gave Ron a mischievous grin. "Save some of that for Tara and there's no way you won't get lucky."

Ron snickered nervously tugging on his collar and swallowed.

≈O≈

Tara preened in front of her mirror, meticulously going over her attire. She twisted and turned to see every angle, looking for awkward draping or lint.

"Relax, sweetie, you look fine."

Tara's father, Harvey, stood at her door observing the ritual.

"I don't want to look _fine_, I want his eyes to melt," Tara said, still staring at her reflection.

"Trust me, when you walk in that gym it'll be like they just opened the _Ark of the Covenant_."

"The what?"

Harvey sighed. "I feel so old and geeky right now."

"Oh, dad. You're not old," Tara smiled.

Harvey returned the smile. He entered the room and sat down on the bed, patting the empty space next to him. Tara came over and sat down, careful not to wrinkle her dress.

"I take it you really like this guy?"

"I do. He's cute. He's funny. A bit of a goofball, but I like that about him."

"He sounds nice. But he's still a boy. So, don't let him get any weird ideas."

"But he's all about weird."

"You know what I mean."

"I don't think I do," Tara said in that special way her father couldn't tell if she was being obtuse or if she was messing with him. It drove him crazy.

"Uh... Just ask your mother."

"So, did _you_ get some 'weird' ideas?"

Now Harvey was pretty sure she was messing with him. He cleared his throat. "So, have a good time. And please be responsible. For me."

Tara turned to him. "I will," she said and hugged him.

"I love you, Tara."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

As a parent, Harvey knew you sometimes had to take a ton of crap, put in an inconceivable amount of effort, and hope for your child to turn out right. But those words made it all worth it.

He left the room feeling hopeful for the future.

Later that evening, after Tara had left with Ron, a boy Harvey whole-heartedly approved of (the fact that the boy had saved his daughter's life was not an insignificant factor), the Williams were preparing for arrival of the Possibles.

Mr. Williams sat on the couch, legs streched out, flicking through channels on the TV. Every now and then he cast a bemused glance at his wife bustling about. She seemed unusually nervous, and couldn't stop checking every little thing about the house and herself.

"Honey, we're not entertaining the First Couple," Harvey said.

"I know," Renee replied, irritated. She then took a breath and said: "I just want to make a good first impression."

"They're scientists. They've probably been on an episode of 'How Clean Is Your House'."

As much as she wanted to defend the woman she believed to be the lover from her past, Renee bit her tongue. She was frantically formulating a response as the doorbell rang.

The Possibles were there.

≈O≈

Kim Possible sighed.

She was sitting alone in the school gymnasium, at one of the long tables they had hauled in from the cafeteria. Almost everyone else was on the dancefloor, dancing to a preapproved pop song.

Even Ron was busting a move with Tara. While he was certainly lacking in grace, the fact that both were clearly enjoying each other's company more than made up for it.

She looked over at Bonnie dancing with Brick Flagg, the quarterback. Kim could tell Bonnie was merely feigning interest in the hulking athlete and the spastic flailing he called dancing. She would have given anything to take his place. Staring at the brunette's more graceful movement, Kim momentarily lost herself in the sight.

"Hey."

Kim looked up and saw Josh Mankey talking to her. Josh was the quiet artistic type - and a class A hottie. At one point he had been Kim's #1 crush.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked pointing to a seat next to her.

Kim took a look at the row of empty seats at the table. "I think you can squeeze in."

Mankey took a seat next to Kim.

"How come you're flying solo, Possible? Shouldn't you cheerleader types have a guy on each arm?"

Kim gave a brief rueful chuckle at the irony of Josh's question. "Let's just say the person I was interested in went with someone else. Didn't see the point in going with someone I wasn't into."

"Huh," Josh said contemplatively.

"What?"

"I never expected an honest answer."

"Yeah, I'm just full of surprises."

"I'll say. Never figured Bonnie was your type."

"Neither did I," Kim replied. A second later she caught her slip. "What? No, I'm not into Bonnie."

"You've been eyeing Brick and Bonnie all night, and I don't see you as the type to go for dumb jocks."

"Well maybe I just see past the exterior."

"You know, Kim, there's really nothing to be ashamed about liking-"

"Josh, I do not like girls, and I do not like Bonnie, period. Got it?"

"If you say so."

Kim couldn't take any more. She got up and making her way to the dancefloor, weaving through the couples until she got to Ron and Tara.

"Hey, Tara. Would you mind terribly if I cut in?" Kim asked, sheepishly as she was feeling a little guilty knowing how much the two blondes were enjoying themselves.

"Sure," Tara smiled. "I need to talk to Bonnie anyway."

"Seeya, Ronnie," she said and gave him a little peck on the cheek.

Ron rubbed the spot on his cheek, his gaze following the blonde as she walked away.

"I'm sorry," Kim said, clasping one hand on her forearm.

"Don't worry about it, KP."

The song changed into a slow one. Ron smiled at Kim. "May I?" he put out his hand.

Kim took his hand and placed the other on his hip. They began to dance in perfect sync.

"Something on your mind, KP?"

"I'm just feeling a little vulnerable right now. I don't have a date and I'm stuck sitting alone, watching you guys have fun."

"You can join in on us if you want. I'm sure Tara wouldn't mind."

"That's okay, I don't want to be a third wheel. I wouldn't really mind so much, but I hate having to watch Bonnie dance with Brick."

"You know that's just for show?"

"I know, but it still bugs me. Why can't I have a fake date?" Kim grumbled.

"Because you didn't ask anyone?"

Kim sighed. "Good point," she said and separated from Ron. "Maybe I'll just go ask Josh to dance, his dance card seems to have some vacancy."

"And it might even make Bonnie jealous. Bonus."

Kim gave Ron a grateful smile and walked off.

≈O≈

The Possibles stepped inside and took turns shaking hands with the Williams. As Mrs. Possible turned to greet Mrs. Williams, she stopped. The cognitive dissonance caused by the familiar face in front of her had her face in a confused frown.

Renee reached out to take her hand that had frozen midway.

"Hello. It's good to finally meet you, _Mrs. Possible_," she said, a timid smile on her lips.

Mr. Possible noticed his wife's silence.

"Honey?"

She snapped out of her daze. "Uh, sorry. Nice to meet you- Mrs. Williams," she said. Still befuddled she turned to Harvey. "Uh, where's the bathroom, please?"

"Well, the downstairs bathroom is on the fritz," Mr. Williams said, and pointed up the stairs, "but the upstairs bathroom is the second door on the left."

"Thank you. Excuse me," Mrs. Possible excused herself and hurried up the stairs, desperately trying to keep her composure. Once inside she sat on the toilet, staring at the floortiles, her head spinning.

Was it really who she thought it was? Was she... Renee? _Her_ Renee?

Downstairs, everyone had settled in the living room. Mrs. Williams told everyone she'd go and check if Mrs. Possible found the bathroom all right.

She walked upstairs, her head buzzing with the same questions Mrs. Possible was occupied with. She knocked softly on the bathroom door. "Mrs. Possible?"

Renee didn't get an answer, so she tried by the name she had come to call _her_: "Annie?"

Mrs. Possible's head shot up. There were only two people who called her Annie: her brother-in-law, Slim, and... _her_.

_Click._

The door unlocked.

The door opened slowly. After nearly twenty years of not knowing, Mrs. Possible now watched everything she had pondered, imagined, and even fantasized about, gradually become flesh before her eyes.

"Hey, Annie," said the woman from her past, her tentative smile dragging out emotions long buried.

"Renee," the name left softly from her lips as her hand reached out to touch the woman's cheek, almost as if to see if she was real.

Renee's hand covered hers, and in silent agreement their bodies joined in sweet embrace, lost in the familiar warmth and scent they had once known so very well.

As the two women finally came apart, they had tears in their eyes.

"What kept you?" Anne asked, smiling through her tears.

Renee let out a sniffled chuckle. "Got married, had a kid."

"That old excuse."

After sharing a chuckle, they let their heads lean forward, bringing their foreheads together.

"I've missed you so much," Anne said.

"Me, too. I'm sorry I left like that, I just thought it was better for both of us."

"Maybe," Anne sighed, "maybe not."

A couple moments went by in silence.

"I know that we're both happily married, Annie," she started, and Anne's heart melted at the sound of her name coming from those lips, "But, would you mind terribly if I kissed you?" Renee asked with that smile on her face that left Anne totally conflicted.

"I don't know if-"

Renee pushed her lips on Anne's. Her conscious mind took a backseat as she instinctively responded to the kiss.

≈O≈

Bonnie was bored out of her mind.

Listening to Brick's inane babbling all night was like Chinese water torture. Every word was like another drop of water falling on her forehead. And the drops just _would not end_. Only a few months back Bonnie would have endured it like a highly trained operative, but now it was more than she could bear.

The time she had spent with Kim and her goofy friend had somehow lead her to expect more from conversation. Even at his stupidest Ron was at least amusing to listen to. The same could not be said about Brick, as jovial as he was.

Just as Bonnie knew to expect the last slow dance to start playing soon, she parted with Brick to "powder her nose".

Bonnie looked around and saw Kim, Tara, and Ron gathered in a corner. Her mind numb from the bricking, she did not really care about appearances as she made a beeline through the dancefloor to the trio.

"Let's ditch this bore-fest," she announced to the group upon arriving.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, his shoulder and hand glued to Tara's. "We're having fun."

"Aren't you worried about being seen with us?" Kim asked. She had meant to be more sardonic, but came out sounding surprised – which she was.

"K," Bonnie grabbed both Kim's hands, "I just wanna go have some fun," she said, looking at Kim, an odd pleading in her voice and eyes.

Kim pulled her hands away and clasped them together behind her back.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, trying to look casual avoiding eye contact with Bonnie.

Quick to adapt and hide her surprise and disappointment, Bonnie crossed her arms.

"I know a club."

≈O≈

The Possibles stood just outside the door facing their hosts the Williams. The men shook hands with each other and the wives.

"We should do this again sometime," James said.

"Definitely," Harvey replied. "Maybe we could get together with some barbecue and cold ones."

"I _have_ been waiting to try out my rocket fuel burners."

"Choice," Harvey grinned.

Hardly paying attention to their husbands' conversation, Renee and Anne hugged warmly.

"Keep in touch, you hear," Renee said, barely loud enough for the men to hear.

"I will," Anne said, reluctantly disengaging the hug, still looking deep into Renee's eyes.

Harvey and James exchanged glances, yet both contributing the unexpected display of affection to being a 'chick thing'.

Even as Harvey moved inside, Renee stood in the doorway watching as Anne walked away, climbed in her car, and held eye contact as the car drove off.

≈O≈

Kim looked at the fresh stamp on her hand. Sure it was to keep her from boozing it up, but she still had to explain it to her folks. Her lax curfew applied to her villain fighting activities, not clubbing.

The group had settled at a vacant table, each sipping on a soda. While the others were content on surveying the scene from their stronghold, Bonnie was getting antsy; she didn't come here to sit and watch others dance.

"We didn't come here to sit on our butts. Let's dance already!" Bonnie said, grabbing Kim's hand. She dragged the reluctant redhead towards the dancefloor as Ron and Tara followed suit, both having eagerly waited for a go-ahead.

Kim and Bonnie began dancing a foot apart with each other, pretending to check out other people. While Bonnie was ready to give in and dance with Kim and Kim alone, the redhead herself was still a little reserved, keeping her distance and looking for interaction with Ron and Tara.

Tara seemed to be having a good time and turned to smile at them every now and then. Ron, on the other hand, was unreachable. He was completely and utterly entranced by Tara and her dancing. Kim could see he had it bad. She couldn't help but smile.

Kim turned to Bonnie, who had a different smile – one of desire. Despite herself, little by little, Kim dropped her guard. The two gave in to the pulsing rhythm, becoming one with the sea of gyrating flesh.

Kim pulled herself out of her stupor a few times to check on Ron and Tara, the couple being farther away at each glance. At the last glance, they were nowhere to be seen. After that, the only thing Kim saw was Bonnie, and vice-versa.

Surrounded by strangers and darkness, their inhibitions began to vanish. Their bodies pressed together. In the dark, the flashing lights and frantic beats controlled their bodies, driving them to bump and grind without a care. In the heat of the night, their skin glistened with a sheen of sweat.

They ended in a remote corner of the club, against a decorative column. With Kim's back against the column, Bonnie pushed her thigh between Kim's legs, trapping the redhead's thigh in between hers. Almost instinctively, Kim began to grind against the limb. Capturing Kim's lips in a hungry kiss, Bonnie followed suit. As they were immersed in their own little bubble, the rest of the club dissolved away, and their rhythm went independent from the music.

Both girls having passed the point of no return began picking up the pace as they rode the wave of passion towards the looming climax, heedless of the attention they might attract. Suddenly, Kim felt a familiar tension, and as the explosion of pleasure began to shake her body, she buried her teeth in Bonnie's shoulder, muffling the scream that inevitably escaped. The lovebite pushed Bonnie over the edge, and she erupted, moaning erratically in Kim's ear, giving her that little bit extra allowing her to extend her stay in O-town. Their bodies convulsed and twitched to a dance of ecstasy.

Slowly the world returned, as they gasped for air, trying to steady their breath. Two cloudy pairs of eyes gazed at each other, maintaining the contact in the waves of their heaving bodies. As the clouds slowly dispersed, Kim finally saw what she imagined was the real Bonnie. Her look was warm, loving, just a bit vulnerable. Before Bonnie was able to hide behind her wall, Kim ended the encounter with a kiss - slow, tender, relaxed, free from the baggage of unfulfilled desire. Sincere. It was sincere. Bonnie forgot herself enough to give in to it wholly, and even held Kim after it, for one moment forgetting the world outside the walls she had put up around her.

As soon as Kim had gotten her senses back, she grabbed Bonnie's hand and lead her to the ladies room.

"You're insatiable," Bonnie grinned.

"It's not that," Kim said, blushing furiously as grabbed a bunch of paper towels from the dispener by the sinks. She handed a stack of them to Bonnie pointing at her leg. The leg as well as the insides of Kim's thighs dripped and glistened with moisture not created by perspiration.

Kim was glowing red as she saw Bonnie's incredulous stare. She mumbled something about 'the heat of the moment' as she wiped herself clean, not daring to look the brunette in the eye.

Bonnie was fascinated. She couldn't help herself; before wiping off the last of the passion juices, she wet her finger and had a little taste of Kim. Now more than ever, she wanted her. She realized her craving went beyond the flesh; she wanted _all of her_. No matter if she had to be public to do so.

That thought in mind, she dragged Kim off, the two of them finally returning the group where they decided to call it a night.

As they got outside and into the light of the streetlamps, Tara noticed the bitemark on Bonnie's shoulder. "My, God! What happened to you, Bonnie?" she worried.

"I tripped and hit my teeth on it," Kim lied hastily. She saw a knowing grin on Ron's face and hit him on the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for, KP?"

"Whatever it was, you probably deserved it!" Tara giggled before Kim could reply, Bonnie and Kim joining her. Ron tried to pout, but ended up joining in on the mirth.

As the group walked off into the night, two sets of eyes followed them, gleaming with satisfaction.

* * *

_To be continued..._


End file.
